Somewhat OT: Harriers and Helicopters

[95th Rifleman]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I don't know how other countries teach Harrier fighting, but the US Marines are heavy into "VIFFing" -- Vectoring In Forward Flight. A Harrier can do things with VIFFing like rolling over and dropping right onto the six of an enemy, push the Harrier into tighter turns, pitch the nose up or down quickly, do short faster climbs, or perform an Immelman easier then a normal aircraft. The downside is that when VIFFing you can easily bleed off airspeed faster than you expected, leading to an unexpected stall, and that the heat signature of the Harrier blooms when VIFFing.

Yup, the technique was pioneered by the Royal Navy and battle tested in the Falklands.

It was the reason the Harrier could beat the Mirage. On paper the Mirage had all the advantages but when you take into account the harrier's unique characteristics the Argentines couldn't compete.