AV-8A

AV-8A

AV-8A

USA

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.3	9.7	9.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Strike aircraft

Naval aircraft

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

Show in game

STORE

This page is about the American jet fighter AV-8A. For other versions, see Harrier (Family).

Description

The AV-8A Harrier is a premium gift rank VI American jet fighter with a battle rating of 9.3 (AB) and 9.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "New Power". Like all members of the Harrier family the AV-8A is a VTOL aircraft with thrust vectoring nozzles, which allow it to take off and land vertically.

General info

Flight performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	___	___	12192	__._	__._	__._	__._	550
Upgraded	1,164	1,156		31.7	32.0	102.7	87.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1191	648	N/A	833	556	~14	~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 648	< 950	< 790	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic Mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Rolls-Royce F402-RR-401		1	5,918 kg		439 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	34m fuel
1,640 kg	Vectored-thrust low-bypass turbofan		6,605 kg	7,292 kg	7,978 kg	8,253 kg	12,679 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	34m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	9,071 kgf	9,625 kgf	1.46	1.32	1.21	1.17	0.76
Optimal	9,071 kgf (0 km/h)	9,625 kgf (0 km/h)	1.46	1.32	1.21	1.17	0.76

The F402-RR-401 engine loses a significant amount of thrust as your speed increases

Survivability and armour

The AV-8A has no armour. The engine and all fuel tanks are packed in a tight cluster in the centre of the fuselage.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The AV-8A is armed with:

• 2 x 30 mm ADEN Mk.4 cannons, belly-mounted (200 rpg = 400 total)

Suspended armament

The AV-8A can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 5 x 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs (1,250 lb total)
• 5 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (2,500 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs + 3 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (3,500 lb total)
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles
• 28 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
• 76 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
• 16 x Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles + 3 x 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs (750 lb total)
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles + 3 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (1,500 lb total)
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles + 2 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles + 2 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs + 1 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bomb (2,500 lb total)
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles + 14 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles + 38 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
• 2 x AIM-9G Sidewinder missiles + 8 x Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets

Usage in battles

The AV-8A can be considered a multirole aircraft which can focus in air-to-air combat, air to ground combat and air to sea combat. Its firepower and ordnance make it a competitive aircraft in all game modes. The roles can be divided in such:

When air to air:

The Harrier has access to AIM-9G Sidewinder air to air missiles capable of taking down all enemy aircraft in the game. It should be noted that the AIM-9G is a rear-aspect lock-on missile, meaning the Harrier must be behind the enemy aircraft to be able to launch the missile.

When facing enemy bombers:

Enemy bombers are the easiest targets for the Harrier both in gun strafe and when using missiles as they lack agility when dogfighting against the Harrier and countermeasures such as flares to be able to counter the missiles. It is unlikely to face enemy bombers besides the Vautour IIA IDF/AF as most of them stay at 8.0. AI-controlled bombers are the exception.

When facing enemy attackers:

When facing player-controlled attackers (not neccesarily planes labelled as attackers but planes who focus on ground striking), the pilot must stay aware that, besides the Harrier superior mobility, they can outturn you as they will often fly at lower speeds than you, meaning their turn radius compared to yours will be much smaller. Most of the enemy planes that do CAS runs will often be enemy fighters (not labelled as attackers) but with ground ordnance, meaning they can or will be heavier than you, increasing drag and reducing agility when in a dogfight, use this as an advantage.

As an attacker/bomber:

The Harrier has access to a wide variety of ground ordnance capable of destroying enemy ground units and bases. It also has access to CCIP ballistics computer (refer to Ballistic Computer for explanation) meaning the pilot has access to ground ordnance crosshairs which will increase ordnance accuracy, both rockets and bombs. It is not recommended to fly as a bomber (in terms of altitude) but fly as a tree cutter (as close to the ground as possible). This is recommended to achieve multiple things: radar interference, max speed, reduce enemy visibility and awareness. It also makes bombing easier without the need of ballistics computer (although it is recommended to use it since it will not require any practice). Time fuze MUST BE ADDED to avoid assault fuze explosion, risking your plane to be hit by the explosion causing a death. Ground striking ordnance should be taken at pilot's discretion, but it is recommended to take the 2 x 1000 lb and 3 x 500lb bombs in order to take a whole base completely and still maintain high speeds. It should be notted that you are unable to carry any sort of anti-air missiles with this payload.

*Note: radar interference is mostly irrelevant in air realistic battles as the plane will still be highlighted and enemy pilots could use eye aiming. However, it will interfere with radar homing missiles (SARH missiles such as AIM-7E, R-3R, etc carried by F-4 Phantoms and MiG-21's) and will be your main line of defence when flying in simulator battles, you will be able to fly stealthily if flying in tree cutting tactic.

When in combined battles (ground realistic battles):

This is where the Harrier is able to shine as an attacker, primarily using VTOL and hovering mode to an advantage (will be explained more detailed later). There is multiple loadouts which can be used in order to make the Harrier a scary attacker.

Bomb payload:

This is often the most used payload for multiple reasons: has the biggest explosion radius compared to rockets, are more forgiving when missing by couple meters, can take multiple targets with a single bomb. The use of ballistics computer makes their aiming much easier than with eye aiming both in realistic and simulator battles. The x4 1000lb bombs are recommended as, if aimed correctly, will destroy one or multiple enemy targets with a single bomb, meaning you are able to get at least 2 kills (as bombs drop in pair)

Rocket payload:

This is the trickiest but most rewarding payload the Harrier can carry (rewarding as it is able to make much more kills than bombs). Tanks can be taken with one to three rocket salvos (launched in pairs, meaning with 2 to 6 rockets in total). This means you are able to get 12 kills (considering you take 6 rockets per tank) if you take the 76 x Might Mouse rocket payload.

VTOL trick:

Harrier can be used as a helicopter thanks to the VTOL capabilities, rockets are recommended if used like this. It is able to hide behind mountains, poke to attack and go back into cover as a helicopter would do. Handling this technique can be tricky and will require practice but is an alternate way of playing CAS.

*Note: AIM-9G are not recommended to be taken in GRB as most of the air to air engagements will be within a kilometre range specially since the AIM-9G turn radious is really narrow, meaning enemy planes can be taken with the 30 mm ADEN autocannons or be taken by friendly SPAA. It is not recommended to use them against enemy helicopters either as the autocannons are sufficient for them.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
I	Compressor	Fuselage repair	Offensive 30 mm		AERO 6A
II	New boosters	Airframe		Mk81	AERO 7D	AIM-9G
III	Wings repair	G-suit	New 30 mm cannons	Mk82	LAU-10/A
IV	Engine	Cover		Mk83
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• VTOL capabilities
• AIM-9Gs have a max G overload of 16
• 16 different payload options
• Powerful 30 mm ADEN cannons

Cons:

• Heavy airframe, loses some speed in turns
• Only gets two anti-air missiles in all loadouts
• Limited WEP, lack of afterburner
• Using thrust vectoring in combat bleeds speed

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• AV-8C
• Harrier GR.1
• Harrier GR.3

External links

• [Devblog] Jump Jets arrive in War Thunder: Meet the Harrier