Harrier destroyed by Afghan rocket

Telegraph News ^ | 16/10/2005 | Sean Rayment

[Cannoneer No. 4]

An RAF Harrier was destroyed and another has been damaged in a rocket attack in Afghanistan, it emerged yesterday.

The jets were on the ground at a military airfield at Kandahar in the south of the country when they were damaged early on Friday morning.

First reports of the attack from the Ministry of Defence made no mention of the damage to the aircraft and failed to disclose that one of them had been destroyed.

The RAF has only six Harrier GR7A jets - each worth £20 million - in Afghanistan, all of them from No 3 (Fighter) Squadron based at RAF Cottesmore, Lincolnshire.

The aircraft have been based at Kandahar since September last year and have been widely used on reconnaissance missions and to help special forces in the hunt for members of the ousted Taliban regime.

The MoD confirmed last night that the jets had been damaged.

One aircraft is being repaired at the airfield and the other has been replaced by another fighter which flew out from Britain on Friday evening.

A spokesman denied that the MoD had tried to conceal the fact that the aircraft had been damaged.

The attacked marks a significant escalation in the security situation in Afghanistan.

Next April more than 3,500 British troops will be deployed into the south of Afghanistan to launch operations against drug barons.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The RAF has only six Harrier GR7A jets in Afghanistan

. . . and they're loud as hell and tear up the runway, but bless their hearts I'm glad they're here.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

While one bunch was rocketing the south end of KAF, another bunch was blowing up POL trucks over by the ANA camp, pretty close to where they blew some up last April. It was a busy night the other night, and we had similar excitement last night, which I will post as soon as Google News picks it up. . I'll be glad when it gets too cold for such foolishness.

[SteveMcKing]

Next April more than 3,500 British troops will be deployed into the south of Afghanistan to launch operations against drug barons.

Where are the Gurkhas? Just curious...

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[Southack]

The Harriers *are* loud. Fun to watch, though.

I'd prefer to see cheaper air cover being used (not much threat of a dogfight over there), but hey, you go with the one who brung ya...

[Darksheare]

The F-35 is supposed to replace the Harrier.
Eventually.
Maybe.

But not THIS soon.
Hope they bring more Harriers in soon.

[fatima]

Thanks for the ping Cannoneer No. 4.

[sourcery]

I wonder how many will misread the thread's title as "Harriet destroyed by Afghan rocket"?

[MNJohnnie]

Where are the Gurkhas? Just curious

Wouldn't that be fun to watch. Mr "Holy" Warrior, you are a disease, meet our cure, Mr Gurkha.

[Americanwolf]

Man losing two of those has two tick the Brits off something fierce

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[MEG33]

Duck! Take care..

[I got the rope]

Time for some payback.

[Texas Eagle]

Whoa. I misread that headline. I thought it said Harriet destroyed by Afghan rocket. My first thought was, "Wow. And I thought Ann Coulter was being tough on her."

[snippy_about_it]

Shouldn't you be coming home soon?

Stay safe.

[longtermmemmory]

It was ON THE GROUND! The Telegraph implies it was shot out of the air!

[txhurl]

Does anybody know if it was Harriers took off from Bergstrom AFB in Austin (now a Starbucksian int'l airport) to Germany annually?

We all showed up to watch the pairs (50 total) take off and they were loud as lightning, and sparky, too.

[Old Seadog]

[snippy_about_it]

There's no mistaking a Harrier for anything else. They hover.

Here's what it looks like.

[American in Israel]

Well that is good news, it being on the ground. A simple russian RPG could hit a sitting duck. Hitting them in the air takes a lot more advanced system.