The FV101 Scorpion is a modern British light reconnaissance tank. The first prototypes were built in 1969, and serial production, started in 1972, lasted until the early 1990s. In total, more than 3,000 copies of this tank were made. The FV101 Scorpion is powered by a gasoline engine Jaguar J60 or the Cummins 6BTA diesel engine with 190 HP each. The vehicle is armed with a single cannon L23A1 76 mm caliber and 1 L43A1 machine gun 7.62 mm.
Tank The FV101 Scorpion was created in response to the British Army's need for a new light and reconnaissance tank. The contact for this task was signed with Alvis in 1967. When designing the FV101 Scorpion, the emphasis was placed on the smallest dimensions of the vehicle (the maximum height is only 2.1 m!), Facilitating hidden operations, wide mobility with the possibility of transporting the tank by air via the C-130 Hercules plane and possibly strong artillery armament in the form of a 76 mm caliber cannon. All these features, combined with the high mechanical efficiency of the entire structure, made the FV101 Scorpion a great export success for Alvis, which sold its structure to many countries, including: Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Oman and Venezuela. A far-reaching development of the FV101 Scorpion, the FV107 Scimitar is armed with the 30mm RARDEN L21 autocannon, using the same chassis and many other elements as the FV101. The FV101 Scorpion light tank took part in the Falklands War (1982), the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and in Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991).
The BAe Harrier is a British single-seat V / STOL fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraft with a duralumin, half-shell structure. The origins of Harrier's construction can be found in 1957, when Lord Sydney Camm of Hawker Aircraft and Dr. Stanley Hooker of Bristol Siddeley Engines started the construction of a tactical aircraft using the latest turbo-fan engine from Bristol plants, then known as BS.53. It was specially adapted to the vertical thrust vector ensuring the vertical take-off of a fixed-wing aircraft. Engine exhaust gases were directed to four staggered nozzles placed in pairs at the front and rear of the fuselage. The range of rotation of the nozzles exceeded 90 degrees, which allowed the exhaust gases to be directed directly rearward in normal flight, vertically downward for take-off and landing, or to any angle during the transition phase. Around the engine, Camm constructed a compact, conventional, high-wing metal airframe. In the forward part of the fuselage there was a one-person cabin, next to which there were two fixed, stationary air inlets for engines with a semicircular cross-section. The two-wheeled main and one-wheeled undercarriages are built in tandem in the central axis of the fuselage. The first of the six prototypes took off for the first time on October 21, 1960. After less than a year, a complete transition was made from vertical climb to horizontal flight and hover again. In February 1965, the UK government ordered six test aircraft. These were the first examples to be given the name Harrier. Apart from Great Britain, the only user of the standard Harrier aircraft is the Spanish Navy, where the aircraft are known as the Matador. To date, a dozen or so versions of the Harrier aircraft have been produced. Chronologically, the first was the Harrier GR.1 (an attack aircraft that entered service in 1969). Version T.3 was created quickly, i.e. a two-person school version of Harrier GR.1. The next version is the Harrier GR.3, which is the most modern assault version of this aircraft equipped with Pegasus 11 Mk 103 engines. Since 1978, the version marked as Sea Harrier has also been produced, the FRS.MK.1 model of which distinguished itself during the Falklands war. in 1982 as a fighter attack aircraft. As a result of the experience gained from this war, the FA.2 version was created, which has better avionics, including a great Blue Vixen radar, greater payload and can use a wider range of weapons. Technical data (GR.3 version): length: 14.37m, wingspan: 7.6m, height: 3.42m, maximum speed: 1185km / h, maximum climb speed: 254m / s, combat radius: 420km, armament : fixed - not equipped, suspended - up to 3176 kg of load.