New Harrier jump-jet coming
December 19, 2007One of the best things to come out of Britain the past few decades (beside the Spice Girls), was the ultra-cool Harrier jump-jet. It was so bad-ass to see one of those things making a vertical landing just like a helicopter.
Well the new version, a variant of the F-35 stealth fighter, is finally rolling off the assembly line at Lockheed Martin. And of course it looks just as bad-ass as the original Harrier. Apparently it was in the latest Die Hard movie, which I haven’t seen yet. Might have to rent that just to check it out.
It’s debateable of course whether you still need this kind of jet in a world where terrorism is the big threat, not some massive Soviet army. Long-range and robotic craft like the Predator seem more useful in today’s kind of combat. Still I suppose there will be times when a stealth aircraft that can land on a dime will prove quite useful.