Last Flight of the Harrier in Rutland and the UK
December 15, 2010 11:44 AM
Today, Wednesday 15 December 2010, will be the last flight of the Harrier in service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. A formation of Harriers is due to fly from RAF Cottesmore for the last time and represents the end of an era for this iconic British-designed aircraft. Many former service chiefs,politicians, retired and serving personel have questioned the decision to retain the less capable and more expensive Tornado over the versatile and battle proven Harrier.
Local Liberal Democrat member and former naval officer, Grahame Hudson said, " This is a very sad day for Rutland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It appears that we have not learnt the lessons from the 1981 Defence Review conducted by John Nott. It is interesting to note that the United States, India and Spain are queueing up to buy the Harrier airframes but no one wants the Tornadoes. I believe this decision makes no political or economic sense whatsoever and will prove very costly in the long run as we will no longer be able to protect British interests overseas with a carrier and maritime strike capability."
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