the.com/harrier
the only fighter jet that lands like it changed its mind about flying.
means A harrier is either a slender, low-flying hawk that hunts by quartering open ground, a breed of hound used for chasing hares, or—as the name was borrowed—a British vertical-takeoff jet that hovers like a bird of prey.
from From the verb 'harry,' meaning to harass or raid (Old English 'hergian,' to ravage or make war), so a harrier is literally 'one who harries'—a fitting name for the hawk that worries small prey across the fields and the hound that runs hares ragged. The jet simply inherited the predator's name, as military aircraft love to do.
- vertical takeoff
- Lifts straight up on rotating jet nozzles
- falklands ace
- Shot down 20-plus enemy jets, lost none in dogfights
- the bird
- A hawk that hunts low, gliding over open marshes
- the dog
- Pack hound bred to run rabbits to exhaustion
- viffing trick
- Brakes mid-air by aiming thrust forward, baffling pursuers
harrier jump jet — british military aircraft that could take off vertically, used from 1969-2010
hen harrier — eurasian bird of prey, critically endangered in uk with only ~4 breeding pairs in 2023