Hawker Siddeley Harrier variant
Hawker Siddeley Harrier Harrier T.60
Two-seat trainer of the Indian Navy, bought alongside the single-seat Sea Harrier FRS Mk.51 fighters to train its carrier pilots. It carried the full avionics fit of the single-seater apart from the Blue Fox radar, and its greater length meant it had to be placed diagonally on the hangar lift of the carrier INS Viraat. The factory-built aircraft were later joined by two British T Mk.4s brought up to T Mk.60 standard.
History
A two-seater for the Indian Sea Harrier
When the Indian Navy adopted the Sea Harrier FRS Mk.51 for its carrier aviation, the order included a two-seat training version designated T Mk.60. The first two, IN651 and IN652, were delivered on 15 and 16 March 1984, by which time only the first three single-seaters had arrived; IN653 followed in April 1990 and IN654 in January 1992.
Equipment and life aboard
The trainer kept the avionics systems of the single-seat fighter apart from the Ferranti Blue Fox radar, dispensable for instruction. Its longer fuselage had practical consequences aboard ship: like the fleet’s other two-seater, it had to be parked diagonally on the hangar lift of the carrier INS Viraat in order to fit.
From SHOFTU to 552 Squadron
Sea Harrier pilot training began with the SHOFTU unit, formed on 16 April 1990 within INAS 300 squadron. In 1991 it moved as a separate flight to INAS 551, and on 7 July 2005 a dedicated squadron, INAS 552, was raised for ab-initio training on the type. By then the two-seat fleet was down to four aircraft: two T Mk.60s from the original batch and two British-sourced T Mk.4s brought up to T Mk.60 standard in 2003 despite their airframe differences. Of the known accidents to the Indian Sea Harrier fleet, two involved two-seaters: IN652 was lost on 27 June 1988 and another T Mk.60 on 2 August 1994.