L’Harrier è stato sicuramente uno dei progetti più ambiziosi in campo aeronautico a livello mondiale, unico velivolo di costruzione occidentale con caratteristiche VSTOL (Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing) entrato in servizio attivo e utilizzato su larga scala. Costruito originariamente in Inghilterra dalla British Aerospace prese spunto dal velivolo sperimentale Hawker Siddeley P.1127 Kestrel, l'Harrier nelle varie versioni è in servizio con la Royal AF, la Royal Navy, la Navy e i Marines statunitensi oltre alle Aviazioni di Marina italiana, spagnola, indiana e thailandese.
La particolarità che rende quasi unico questo tipo di velivolo, anche se necessita menzionare che esisteva un concorrente con capacità VTOL di produzione sovietica denominato YAK 36/38 Forger, velivolo costruito agli inizi degli anni settanta e paragonabile alla versione base dell’Harrier GR1 o AV 8A, è la capacità di decollare e atterrare verticalmente, questo è possibile perché l'Harrier dispone di quattro ugelli orientabili per la variazione della spinta che gli permettono contemporaneamente di operare come un Elicottero e quindi di operare in qualsiasi luogo terrestre o su di una nave e di volare come un jet transonico. Questa possibilità risulta molto utile anche in combattimento, effettuando improvvise decelerazioni e/o accelerazioni, oppure per inclinare l'aereo verso il basso stando fermo senza "picchiare", tutte queste possibilità lo rendono un mezzo notevole per il combattimento manovrato. Basta ricordare i molteplici successi ottenuti dai Sea Harrier dalla Royal Navy durante il conflitto delle Falkland contro i velivoli tradizionali Skyhawk e Mirage Argentini con un numero ragguardevole di abbattimenti.
Il P.1127 Kestrel iniziò i collaudi nel 1960, subendo successivamente alcune modifiche per rendere la macchina idonea all'impiego bellico, fu necessario per raggiungere l’obbiettivo dotarlo di piloni sub-alari adatti al trasporto di armamento e rimotorizzarlo con un motore più potente. Il velivolo definitivo, denominato Harrier, volò la prima volta il 31 Agosto del 1966 e divenne operativo nel 1969. La Royal Air Force ordinò 132 monoposto Gr.1 e 19 biposto da addestramento T.2, divenendo così la prima forza aerea a disporre di un velivolo da combattimento con caratteristiche VSTOL. Successivamente nei primi anni settanta anche l’USMC (United States Marines Corps) riceve i primi Harrier denominati AV 8A, la versione AV 8A era costruita su licenza dalla McDonnell Douglas ed era equipaggiata con il motore Roll Royce Pegasus 102, derivato dal meno potente modello RR 101 utilizzato per i primi prototipi. L'avionica e la strumentazione erano piuttosto semplici, mentre con le versioni GR 3 per gli inglesi e con l’AV 8B per gli americani, cominciano ad essere introdotte notevoli migliorie sia sulla motorizzazione con un nuovo propulsore denominato Pegasus RR 103, e nell’avionica con l’installazione del designatore Laser per la guida di bombe intelligenti e di un avvisatore RWR (Radar Warning Receiver), inoltre anche di uno HUD (Head Up Display). Nel frattempo anche la Marina Spagnola acquisisce la versione AV 8B mentre invece la Marina Indiana predilige per motivi politici la versione di costruzione inglese Sea Harrier, quest’ultima è una versione prettamente imbarcata costruita appositamente per la Royal Navy. La struttura del velivolo era realizzata in alluminio per quanto riguarda le prime versioni mentre le più recenti sono state aggiunte parti di materiali in composito. Con la disponibilità di nuove tecnologie e la necessità di nuove capacità operative si intraprese lo sviluppo verso la fine degli anni ottanta di un’ulteriore upgrade del velivolo, questo si rese necessario non essendoci nuovi progetti a breve termine per un valido sostituto, quindi sia la British Aerospace e la Boeing (in cui era confluita la McDonnel Douglas) lavorarono insieme per un’ulteriore versione dell'Harrier, progetti che portarono alla creazione della versione inglese chiamata GR.7 e in breve tempo un’ulteriore upgrade chiamato GR.9, mentre gli americani chiamarono la nuova versione AV-8B Plus Harrier II, la caratteristica principale del velivolo riprogettato fu una nuova ala in materiali compositi (grafite epossidica) e un aumento della superficie alare, inoltre la nuova ala era dotata di profilo supercritico, ipersostentari e LERX alle radici alari, consentendo prestazioni maggiori in termini di manovrabilità ed autonomia, questa maggiore ampiezza comportava anche un aumento sostanziale di attacchi per carichi bellici, oltre alla evoluzione aerodinamica la versione Plus ha acquisito delle capacità tecnologiche di ultima generazione come il radar multimodale APG-65, il FLIR che congiuntamente all’ausilio dei visori notturni ANVIS 9, gli conferiscono totale capacità sia diurna che notturna. L’ultima generazione di Harrier (AV-8B Plus Harrier II) con le migliore descritte, come lo erano anche i suoi predecessori, è un velivolo monoposto transonico da combattimento multiruolo, in grado di svolgere indifferentemente missioni di attacco al suolo, di intercettazione e ricognizione, versione della quale se ne avvale l’aviazione della Marina Militare che ha acquistato 16 esemplari (14 monoposto e due biposto).

Lunghezza: 14,10 mt. AV 8B 15,21 mt. TAV 8B
Apertura alare: 9,24 mt.
Altezza: 3,55 mt.
Superficie Alare: 21,37 mq.
Peso a vuoto: 6.658 kg AV 8B 6.451 kg. TAV 8B
Peso max al decollo: 14.969 kg corsa normale 8.870 kg. decollo verticale
Carico esterno max al decollo: 6.003 kg
Corsa decollo corto: 110mt.
Apparato motore: 1 turboventola a getti orientabili Rolls-Royce F 404-RR-408 "Pegasus 11-61" da 10.800 Kg. di spinta
Velocità max. livello del mare: mach 0,98
Velocità max. in quota: mach 0,91
Raggio di azione: 360 km con 2700 kg di carico bellico; 270 km in missione BAI Lo-Lo
Carburante: 3.519 kg. nei serbatoi interni 3.661 kg. nei serbatoi esterni
Massima accelerazione: +8/-3G
Avionica:
2 display digitali a colori
Radar “multimode” AN/APG 65 (non su TAV 8B) con capacità “look down” per ricerca bersagli a bassa quota, nella modalità aria-suolo traccia automaticamente bersagli terrestri anche in cattive condizioni meteo, rappresentazione della mappatura del terreno.
POD illuminatore laser IR e TV Litening II.
POD contromisure Jammer ALQ 164
Lanciatore di Chaff e Flare (180 expendables) per autoprotezione
Radar Warning Receiver tipo ALR 67
Sistemi radio sicuri
Sistemi autoprotezione Anti-Jam KY 58 e Havequick I e II.
Armamenti:
Cannone GAU 12 da 25mm
Missili aria-aria AIM 120 AMRAAM a medio-lungo raggio.
Missili aria-aria AIM9L Sidewinder a corto raggio.
Missili aria-superficie AGM 65F.
Bombe GP MK 82 e 83 a caduta libera.
Bombe GBU 12 e GBU 16 a guida laser.
Bombe Cluster Mk.20 “Rocheye”.
Lanciatori per razzi LAU-10.

English translation by Frank McMeiken

On 27 October 2011 at the Stazione Aeromobili Marina (MariSTaer) Grottaglie, a ceremony was held to celebrate the achievement of twenty years of service of the AV 8B Plus Harrier II of the Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati under the Forza Aerea Navale of the Marina Militare.
Attending the dceremony were the highest ranking officers of the Marina, including Capo di Stato Maggiore Ammiraglio di Squadra Bruno Branciforte and the Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale Ammiraglio di Squadra Luigi Binelli Mantelli, while representing the home base were the Comandante della Forze Aerea Navale (COMFORAER) Contrammiraglio Paolo Treu and the Comandante of the MariSTaer, Capitano di Vascello Alessandro M.Dionigi.
The event had as a “special guest” an AV 8B + “Special Colours” (code 1-19, the last Harrier II to be delivered to the Marina Militare), with a fierce wolf painted on the fin (the emblem of the GRUPAER unit), while under the canopy there was a commemorative sticker celebrating the 30,000 flying hours recorded by the Marina’s Harrier fleet. Amongst the features of the ceremony were the transposition of the Medaglia d’Argento al Valor Militare from the standard of the Forza Aerea della Regia Marina to the standard of COMFORAER (the Comando delle Forze Aeree), and the handing over to the Comandante of GRUPAER, Capitano di Corvetta Sergio Chiandussi, of a plate commemorating the twenty years of service by the Harrier with the unit. The ceremony was held in the hangar of the 4° Gruppo Elicotteri, while on the apron outside a small static display was arranged featuring aircraft of the Marina Militare and the other Italian armed forces.

"GRUPAER - Gruppo Aeromobili Imbarcati"
The GRUPpo AEromobili (GRUPAER) is the only flying unit of the Forza Aerea Navale of the Marina Militare Italiana to operate a fleet of fixed wing aircraft, and the type of aircraft in use is the AV 8B Harrier II Plus. The GRUPAER was created in February 1991 when the flying unit was officially constituted. It immediately commenced activity at the United States Marine Corps at Cherry Point, preparing itself to utilise the new aircraft. In the following June the engineers and pilots, after a brief period of ground training supported by American aircraft, received their first two Harriers, these being two seat versions designated TAV 8B. These two jets would permit the pilots of the Marina Militare to undertake operational conversion. On 23 August the official delivery ceremony took place, with the two aircraft landing on the carrier Garibaldi, anchored in the Port of Norfolk (Virginia). Exactly one month later, the squadron returned to Italy, and flew into Grottaglie, its present Stazione Aeromobili.
In 1994, again in the United States, the first three single seat AV 8B were delivered to GRUPAER, and the process was concluded in 1997.
The principal role of the GRUPAER is the defence of the surface fleet, a role which is of primary importance, particularly during the wide range of Peacekeeping activities performed by the ships of the Marina Militare in every corner of the planet; the unit also undertakes the no-less important duties of providing tactical support to surface operations and aerial reconnaissance.
The air component of the Marina Militare was the first air arm in the world to employ the AV 8B Plus on real combat missions; this debut took place in 1995, shortly after the delivery of the first single seat aircraft. Besides this record, the unit quickly distinguished itself by delivering levels of reliability in excess of 75% for all its assigned roles, both real and training, demonstrating that the “Wolves” from Grottaglie were highly efficient.
It is worth examining some of the principal operations conducted by the GRUPAER during its brief but intense history.
In 1995, despite the fact that the unit was still working up, it was quickly assigned to two actual military operations which involved deployment to the carrier Garibaldi. The first was the multinational Operation “United Shield” in Somalia, where the unit provided reconnaissance and air support to the landing on the “Horn of Africa” on Somali territory by the Reggimento “San Marco” (Italian Marines) and the U.S. Marines. The second was again in Somalia, and the “Lupi” with their Harrier participated in Operation Somalia 3; these combat operations, undertaken by all the personnel of the flying unit with particular dedication, and intended to bring peace to the troubled area, resulted in the award to the Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati of its Bandiera di Combattimento (War Standard), handed over in 1996 by the ANMI (Associazione Nazionale Marinai d’Italia) of Andria, recognition that had a double value for the GRUPAER, as it was made only two years after the unit had received its first “full capability” aircraft.
Between March and June 1997 the GRUPAER participated in Operation “Alba Neo” (Albania Non Combat Evacuation Operation), organised by the United nations following a popular uprising, and which called for daily reconnaissance and support missions over Albania, departing from the home Stazione at Grottaglie. In 1999 it was the result of NATO Operation “Allied Force” in the skies of the Federal republic of Jugoslavia that brought the Serbian delegation to the negotiation table, while in 2001, again under the UNO banner, the operational theatre moved to Afghanistan and “Enduring Freedom”, a delicate and demanding mission intended to bring the tormented middle eastern nation embryonic peace after years of ferocious combat between various factions. The “Lupi” aircraft, flying from the Garibaldi deployed to the Indian Ocean conducted, in around five months of operations more than 800 flying hours on combat 800 missions. In 2006 a further mission was Operation “Leonte” over the Lebanon, where reconnaissance missions were flown to monitor mercantile traffic inbound to and departing from the Mediterranean nation. The most recent mission in which the “Lupi” from Grottaglie have participated has been Unified Protector.
Unified Protector was a peacekeeping mission sanctioned by the United Nations Organisation which, on the basis of Security Council Resolution 1973 instigated a no-fly zone over Libya to oversee the protection of the civilian population and to provide support to the rebel forces which were seeking to overthrow the autocratic regime of Mu’ammar Gheddafi. Military intervention in Libya commenced officially on 19 March with operations by the French Air Force, followed some hours later by American and British operations.
The attacks were initially launched autonomously by a few members of the so-called “coalition of the willing” without a common purpose; from 25 March, however, the official date of the start of “Unified Protector”, NATO managed the direction of the operations. In the early phases the nations involved in the enforcement of the naval blockade and the prevention of flying were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, France, Norway, Qatar, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States, subsequently the coalition was widened to include other nations such as Sweden Holland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, eventually comprising a total of nineteen member states.
The military mission was launched following a long period of economic sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States which failed to deliver the intended results, and, moreover, as a result of the unanimous condemnation of the bloody repression perpetrated against the civilian population and rebel forces, action became inevitable.
The AV 8B of the Marina Militare took part in the peace keeping missions operating directly from the deck of the carrier Garibaldi. The eight aircraft assigned to Unified Protector completed 273 operational missions for a total of 1,221 flying hours; these missions comprised 12 air defence missions, 176 reconnaissance sorties, and 85 ground attack missions as part of an overall total of around 560 sorties. These flying hours guaranteed some 33% of the overall sorties flown by all the tactical air component of the Italian armed forces, while the figure climbs to 53% in respect of the missions flown on interdiction tasks.
Furthermore, the AV 8B were utilised for a kind of QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) to respond to possible airborne threats derived from the Libyan Air Force, and as support aircraft for involvement in possible CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) operations, which would have been conducted by the helicopters of the Marina Militare.
The Italian Navy, together with the Allies, performed a fundamental role in the provision of the timely response to and management of the crisis in Libya, which characterised much of 2011.
For 252 days between 22 February and 31 October 2011, 14 ships, 2 submarines, 8 aircratf and 30 helicopters, plus elements of the Forza da Sbarco (Marines) and Forze Speciali (Special Forces), were rotated through the operational area close to Libyan waters as part of the Allied aero-naval element assisting the series of initiatives aimed at safeguarding the interests of Italy and its citizens, placed in danger by the outbreak of a civil war close to the Italian mainland.

TAV - AV 8B Plus Harrier II - technical characteristics
The Harrier was surely one of the most ambitious projects in the aviation field on a global scale, the sole Western-manufactured aircraft with VSTOL (Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing) characteristics to enter active service and see widespread utilisation. Produced initially in England by British Aerospace, it was derived from the experimental Hawker Siddeley P.1127 Kestrel, and the Harrier, in its various versions, went on to serve with the Royal AF, Royal Navy, United States Navy and Marine Corps, together with the Italian, Spanish, Indian, and Thai naval air arms.
The characteristic that renders this type of aircraft unique, although it is necessary to remind readers that aa Soviet built aircraft with comparable performance does exist, the YAK 36/38 Forger, manufactured at the beginning of the seventies and equivalent to the Harrier GR1 or AV 8A base version, is the capacity to take off and land vertically. This is possible because the Harrier possesses four movable exhausts which can be used to vary the direction of the thrust, allowing it to operate almost like a helicopter, and thereby deploy from almost any land location or from a ship while capable of transonic flight in the cruise. This capability has also proved to be very useful in combat, enabling sudden deceleration or acceleration, or instigating vertical descent while staying still and without diving; all these possibilities render the aircraft notable combat manoeuvring capabilities. Evidence of this are the successes achieved by the Sea Harrier of the Royal Navy during the South Atlantic combat against traditional Argentinian aircraft such as the Skyhawk and Mirage, which suffered a notable number of losses.
Testing of the P.1127 Kestrel commenced in 1960, and the airframe subsequently went through several modification to render it suitable for combat operations; in order for it to be viable, it was necessary to equip it with under-wing pylons to carry armament, and to re-engine it with a more powerful engine. The definitive aircraft, named Harrier, flew for the first time on 31 August 1966, and became operational in 1969. The Royal Air Force ordered 132 GR.1 single seats and 19 T.2 two seat trainers, thus becoming the first air force to deploy an combat aircraft with VSTOL characteristics. Subsequently in the early seventies the USMC (United States Marines Corps) also received its first Harrier, designated AV 8A. The AV 8A version was manufactured under licence by McDonnell Douglas and equipped with the Rolls Royce Pegasus 102 engine, derived from the less powerful RR 101 version utilised in the first prototypes. The avionics and instrumentation were fairly basic, but with the British GR 3 and American AV 8B versions notable improvements began to be introduced to the engine, with the adoption of the new Pegasus RR 103, and the avionics, with the installation of a Laser designator for the guidance of intelligent bombs, and a RWR (Radar Warning Receiver), together with a HUD (Head Up Display). In the meantime, the Spanish Navy also acquired the AV 8B version, while the Indian Navy selected, for political reasons, the British manufactured Sea Harrier version, the latter being a version developed for ship borne operations and manufactured specifically for the Royal Navy. The structure of the early aircraft was produced from aluminum, while the more recent variants feature the increasing utilisation of advanced composite material. With the availability of new technologies and the requirement for new operational capabilities, towards the end of the eighties steps were taken to develop a further upgrade for the aircraft, given that there were no new projects for a potential replacement likely to be available in the short term, and both British Aerospace and Boeing (into which McDonnel Douglas had been absorbed) worked together on a further version of the Harrier, a project which led to the creation of a British version known as the GR.7, and shortly after a further upgrade called the GR.9, and the new American version, which was called the AV-8B Plus Harrier II. The principal characteristic of the re-designed aircraft was a new wing in composite materials (graphite and epoxy) with an increased surface area. The new wing also features a supercritical profile wing, slats, and LERX at the wing routes, delivering improved performance in terms of manoeuvrability and endurance. This major expansion also resulted in a substantial increase in the payload, while in parallel with the aerodynamic evolution the Plus version has been fitted with the latest generation technological capacity, such as the APG-65 multi-mode radar, and the FLIR which, when supported by the use of ANVIS 9 night vision visors, deliver total day and night capacity. The final generation of Harrier (AV-8B Plus Harrier II) with the improvements mentioned, in common with its predecessors, was a single-seat transonic multirole combat aircraft, capable of performing a variety of missions including ground attack, interception and reconnaissance, a version of which serves with the Marina Militare, which purchased 16 examples (14 single seats and two two seats).

Length: 14.10 mt. AV 8B, 15.21 mt. TAV 8B
Wing span: 9.24 mt.
Height: 3.55 mt.
Wing area: 21.37 mq.
Empty weight: 6,658 kg AV 8B, 6,451 kg. TAV 8B
Maximum take off weight: 14,969 kg conventional take-off, 8,870 kg. Vertical take-off
Maximum external load on take-off: 6,003 kg
Short take-off run: 110 mt.
Engine: One variable thrust Rolls-Royce F 404-RR-408 "Pegasus 11-61" turbofan delivering 10,800 Kg. thrust
Maximum speed at sea level: Mach 0.98
Maximum speed at high altitude: Mach 0.91
Radius of action: 360 km with 2,700 kg payload; 270 km on a BAI Lo-Lo mission
Fuel: 3,519 kg. In internal tanks, 3,661 kg. In external tanks
Maximum acceleration: +8/-3G
Avionics:
2 digital colour displays
Multimode AN/APG 65 radar (not in the TAV 8B) with “look down” capability for detecting low altitude targets, and in air-gound mode automated target tracking, even in poor weather, plus representation of the terrain mapping.
Litening II IR and TV laser illuminator pod.
Jammer ALQ 164 ECM jammer pod.
Chaff and Flare launchers (180 expendables) for self-defence
ALR 67 Radar Warning Receiver
Secure radio systems
Anti-Jam KY 58 and Havequick I and II self-defence systems.
Armament:
GAU 12 25mm cannon.
AIM 120 AMRAAM medium range air-to-air missiles.
AIM9L Sidewinder short range air-to-air missiles.
AGM 65F air-to-surface missiles.
Free-fall GP MK 82 and 83 bombs.
GBU 12 and GBU 16 laser guided bombs.
Mk.20 “Rockeye” cluster bombs .
LAU-10 rocket launchers.