BAe Harrier GR9

BAe Harrier GR9

This BAe Harrier GR9 was hanging from the ceiling of the Imperial War Museum in London.

BAe Harrier GR9

The British Aerospace 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 the latest development of the Harrier Jump Jet family, and was derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated accordingly as GR7 and GR9.

The GR9 was developed via the Joint Update and Maintenance Programme (JUMP), which significantly upgraded the Harrier fleet’s avionics, communications systems, and weapons capabilities during scheduled periods of maintenance in an incremental manner.

The aircraft on display was delivered as a GR5 in 1992 and was subsequently upgraded to a GR7 and then a GR9. It saw service in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. It was damaged in 2010 in the USA, before being declared as scrap. In 2012 it was offered for sale to the IWM.

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