French carrier Charles De Gaulle

[Whispering Death]

Wait isn't the Harrier the deadliest aircraft in America's arsenal when it comes to crashes....

Yep, we can't wait to get rid of them.

 

[USMC0861]

AV-8'S Might not be much in air to air combat but they are bomb for CAS.

 

[A Can of Man]

It's only REAL selling point is that it's a decent plane that requires no runway.

 

[jimmyboy]

It's only REAL selling point is that it's a decent plane that requires no runway.

just one problem you give it a full mission load and it would use so much fuel doing a vertical takeoff you'd have to turn back after five minutes, of flying, it requires a runway, but only a short one.

 

[A Can of Man]

I mean without a full combat load. That's the tradeoff. You couldn't carry much in terms of armament... but actually that's something that plagues most ship-borne fixed wing air craft.
Russian navy jets can't carry nearly as much as their American counterparts. In fact, the American jets like the F-18, F14 etc. The difference is in the catapult launch system.
Harrier needs a short runway for a full combat load, but for light armament, it won't require a runway.
Can it actually land on rough fields? I've seen clips of a SPECAT Jaguar landing on a grass field next to a road.