V/STOL and the Royal Air Force

THE ROYAL AIR FORCE was the first military organisation to deploy a fixed-wing vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft - the British Aerospace Harrier. This paper describes the Royal Air Force's concept of operations for its current force of Harrier GR3s and sets out the advantages of the new Harrier GR5. Finally, it discusses the future of V/STOL with particular regard to Royal Air Force interest in the proposed Advanced Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing aircraft.