Hawker Siddeley Harrier

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British jet-powered attack aircraft built by Hawker Siddeley, and it was the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft able to take off and land vertically or on very short runways. It grew directly out of the Kestrel prototype after the supersonic P.1154 was cancelled. The Harrier GR.1 first flew on 28 December 1967 and entered Royal Air Force service in April 1969, and the United States Marine Corps later bought it as the AV-8A. A single Pegasus turbofan with four rotating nozzles gave it vectored thrust. The RAF dispersed its Harriers from West Germany airbases, while the Marines flew them from assault ships. Its descendants include the Sea Harrier and the Harrier II.