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Description: The TAV8B Plus II is the two seat trainer variant of the AV8B PLUS II. In the Italian navy, the AV8b started it’s story back in the 1991 when the Italian navy was finally able to purchase a total of 18 AV8B for the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, after a lot of discussion and conflict with the Italian air force. The first two units delivered were the two TAV8B assembled in the USA in the 23 august of the same year and at the same time, the Italian pilots went to the USA to recive training for the aircraft. The remaining 16 aircraft were assembled by Alenia in Italy. The aircrafts have one ground base at Grottaglie, called “la tana dei Lupi” were the aircrafts normally stay for repair and when the carriers are not in operation, otherwise they stay on the aircraft carrier Cavour or Garibaldi. The aircraft in the Italian service saw theyr first operation in Somalia in the 1995 when the Giuseppe Garibaldi was sent here for support the UN troops. The Italian AV8B achieved the 100% level of readiness for all the three months of deployment. In the 1999 they were sent to attack the serbian forces and the Yougoslav paramilitary forces with the Giuseppe Garibaldi in the Nato operation in kosovo. In the lybian civil war in the 2011, alongside with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Tornado and AMX of the Aereonautica Militare, they were used for air to ground with laser guided bombs,maverick missiles and jps guided bombs against the Lybian facility, oustpost and veichles and for combat air patrol with AIM 120B and AIM9L missiles. During theyr life they alongside with the Spanish Harriers, they got an upgrade who made they able to use the AIM 120B AMRAAM on the fuel wing pilons (the most internal one) wich permit to the aircraft to carry a total of 6 AMRAAM + 2 AIM9L (note that this upgrade was never done to USA harriers so they will have less missiles). The aircraft will be replaced in the next years by the F35 B. This variant in the specific doensn’t have the radar but it can use all other weapons beside Aim-120B.
Why it should be in the game: I believe that like the A7K, this aircraft can be a very good candidate to be an event aircraft while the other two variant of the single seat AV8B (The early witouth amraam and the late with amraam) can be in the reasearchable tech tree.
Specifications
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Length: 14.1m
Height: 3.35m
Wingspan: 9.24 m
Wing area: 21.37 m²
Wing Loading: 637 kg/m² (at maximum load)
Empty weight:6.658 kg
Maximum Payload: 6003 kg
Internal Fuel Capacity: 3520 kg
Maximum fuel capacity: 7180 kg
Maximum take-off weight: 14969 kg
Maximum Vertical Take Off Weight: 8,870 kg
Maximum Vertical Support Weight: 9245 kg
Maximum speed at altitude: Mach = 1
Maximum Speed at Sea Level: 600 knots ≈ 1,110 km/h
Rate of climb: 5,400 m/min
Tangency: 13600 m
Load factor: from + 8 to –3 G
Average consumption at high altitudes: 3,000 lb/h ≈ 1,360 kg/h
Average consumption at low altitudes: 6,000 lb/h ≈ 2,720 kg/h
Travel range. 3640 km with 4 external auxiliary tanks Range of action: 556 km
Crew: 2
Armament :
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Cannons:
1x 25 mm Gau 12 equalizer
Bombs:
6x Mk 82 bombs
4x MK 20 rokeye cluster bombs
4x GBU 38
2x GBU 32
4x GBU 12
4x GBU 54
2x GBU 16
2x GBU 10
2x MK77
4x MK 83
6x MK81
Rokets:
8x MK 32 Zuni unguided rokets
2x Mighty mouse 70 mm dispenser
2x LAU 61 Dispenser
2x LAU 68 Dispenser
Air to Ground Missile:
2x AGM 65G Maverick
2x AGM 65F Maverick
Air To Air Missiles:
2x Aim-120A Amraam
2x Aim-120B Amraam
2x Aim-9L Sidewinder
Countermeasures:
6x dispensers of 180 contromesures including flare and chaff
2x SUU44 Flare pods
Sources
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https://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/thefleet/airfleet/Pagine/av8b.aspx
AV-8B+ Harrier II Italian Navy Marina Militare GRUPAER
LIBYA: NATO assumes 'sole command' of coalition air operations | News | Flight Global
Spain arms AV-8B with Penguin | News | Flight Global
Marina Militare : gli AV-8B "Plus"( Harrier II) si addestrano con la nave d'assalto anfibia di classe Wasp USS Iwo Jima – NSM
A bordo dell’ITS Garibaldi – AVIO REPORTER
Pictures
