As a very experienced Harrier pilot, I would absolutely love it if the Italian AV-8B+ got its AMRAAMS no matter how much it would get moved up in BR.
I have collected various images of Harriers carrying in Italian service. All the pictures I can find only show them carrying 2 AMRAAMS but the B+ can carry up to 4 total
It’d be very stupid not to grant these harriers AMRAAM, given the whole point of the radar in the nose of it.
Its arguably for better A2G capability considering the AN/APG-65 has various ground mapping modes including Moving Target Indication and sensor cueing, which is a significant improvement since it builds on the limited capacity that existed (TACAN) in the previous variants (AV-8B “Night Attack”) as it is an otherwise novel capacity vs the prior nose installation; the ARBS (AN/ASB-19, Angle-Rate Bombing System), in which it alongside the DMT’s capacity were wholly replicated by the LITENING pod.
The fact that it also allows for AMRAAM usage, and A2A radar capabilities is mostly a hold over from the fact that the donor F/A-18A/Cs needed to be able to self-escort and that the Marines suddenly had radars to spare after it was replaced with the APG-73 and so could be cheaply integrated since the Sea Harriers(FRS.2) had already integrated the similar form factor Blue Vixen Radar so they had sufficient points of reference.
The fact that the US still lacks any variant of the AV-8B after such an extend period (The GR.7 Harrier, the British counterpart to the B+(NA) was added going on 9 updates (Drone age, 14th of September 2022) ago, and the Italian AV-8B+ (Sons of Attila 19th of September 2023) going on 4 major updates) is also quite odd.
Though I personally think there is fair odds that at least one of the following airframes will be added; F-111F, A-10C, AV-8B (Any variant), F/A-18 (-A, -A+ or -C) within the next two updates or so.
I reckon it was just a combo of getting other aircraft (F-14B, F-16C, F-111, etc) and providing some limit on how many aircraft they got last year (close to double what most other nations got) and I reckon they were saving it for AMRAAM specifically.
Its possible Italy will get AMRAAM on their AV-8B+
There are a lot of current airframes that could get them. So will be interesting to see how they want to approach it and ultimately that will be decided by the impact AMRAAM has on the game. I reckon though it will be more like September that they begin rolling them out to more aircraft. Once they have time to see the balance
Forgot which harrier we were referring to. Half asleep when I wrote that, thought the sea harrier that got leaked with amraams. Not sure why I thought that, but this one definitely was not primarily A2A.
If the leaks are true and we do get the Sea Harrier F.A 2 with AMRAAMS then hopefully the Italian AV-8B+ will get AMRAAMS as well and possibly the US will finally get it’s AV-8B
There’s a high probability gaijin give AIM-120B AMRAAM on italian navy AV-8B+ for next major update
For me, Harrier GR.7 counterpart to AV-8B Night Attack (USMC) with AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening II targeting pod.
Now USA tech tree lack attack aircraft max speed 673 ~ 1,120 km/h at 11.3 ~ 12.0 BR in rank VII ~ VIII
I don’t know F/A-18A, F/A-18A+ & F/A-18C Hornet located to USA fighter aircraft or attack aircraft line
I want gaijin add new aircraft aircraft equivalents Harrier GR.7 (RN) and Su-25SM3 (RU) this year
they should give the jet to the nation that built it first :)
The UK?
the US designed and built the AV-8B+
Missing quite alot of existing effort by Hawker Siddeley , Rolls Royce and BAE there. The AV-8B didn’t just fart itself into existence.
It kind of did, considering it (somehow) managed to survive being walked away from twice.
The original joint US-UK program (the AV-16 / Advanced Harrier upgrade; since it was intended to double the AV-8’s payload and range), floundered for technical reasons and was left by the UK in 1975 due to budgetary constraints, and limited buy in of only 60 airframes (the USMC fleet was envisioned to to be ~240 airframes depending on options but a 1:1 airframe replacement was likely), which basically put the program on ice for a time shortly after due to the the USMC not being able to fund the effort by itself (and extensive USN interference, since it’s a new airframe, not hand me downs, why would the USMC ever need those, why not buy shiny new A-18s instead?) shuttered the effort in 1978.
And that basically left the US based contractor (McDonnell Douglas) to go it alone to complete the redesign(to USMC standards), this basically meant that there was no replacement for the ageing AV-8As (entered service with the USMC in '71), which was now the premier CAS / CAP airframe for the USMC(and was a critical component for the defense of Sea Control Ships(ASW focused small helicopter carriers, that would deny critical choke points to Soviet Subs)), and with the aircraft ageing out a SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) was started up to extend the life for a sufficient time to get a replacement for such an important feature with no / limited lapse in capability; this became the AV-8C(and served 81~87, with a rolling phase in of the AV-8B starting 1985).
The program was revived in 1976 with a developmental contract for two YAV-8B airframes ( aerodynamically modified AV-8As), and after sufficient (USN stipulated) testing an eventual production contract materialized(for ~320 airframes) in 1979 using DoD funds, The British then re-enter the program in 1981 and their contractors received less than favorable workshare on production elements of the joint 400 or so airframes.
Its difficult to really fairly assign who owns what but if things had stopped when the UK left the joint program it wouldn’t exist, and if the USMC had given up, it would likely look very different today since it would probably have been evolved from the FRS.1 (Sea Harrier) as a half step between the FRS.2 and GR.5.
And that in and of itself doesn’t even cover the fact that apart from major systems the fitted electronics and stores carried by the airframe are basically unique to each service with some limited overlap, let alone the path they have taken since production finished.
Core design is still British. Sure its an evolved version but it uses the Harrier design, a British design. Hell still uses a Pegasus engine. I’m not of course saying the USA didn’t improve or contribute to the design. But to say its an American design is a little reductionist.
Core still is but 2nd gen was spearheaded by MDD
Cockpit itself was “taken” from F/A-18 (Not really taken but was heavily influenced by F/A-18s)
The wing was of composite construction with shallower sweep but greater span with two more stations.
I’m not sure who brought LERX to table though? Was it British or Americans? @Gunjob do you maybe know?
THANK YOU DEVS FOR GIVING THE AV-8 ITS AMRAAMS
I shall bully people for a few days while they grind out their own FOX-3 capable planes
