British Aerospace Harrier II |Harrier GR5 / GR7 / GR9| |An RAF
Harrier GR9 over Afghanistan, 2008| |Role||V/STOL strike
aircraft| |National origin||United Kingdom / United States|
|Manufacturer||British Aerospace / McDonnell Douglas BAE Systems
/ Boeing |First flight||30 April 1985| |Primary users||Royal Air
Force (historical) Royal Navy (historical) |Developed
from||Hawker Siddeley Harrier McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
The British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II is a second-
generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet
aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and,
between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was
derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, which
itself was a development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. Initial
deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as
Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated
accordingly as GR7 and GR9. Both the RAF and RN operated the
Harrier II as a ground attack platform; the Ha