THE maiden flight of the first Harrier GR9 was successfully completed from Warton aerodrome, near Preston, said BAE Systems, which is developing the plane for the Ministry of Defence.
After taking off from the aerodrome shortly before 3pm, the state-of-the-art warplane flew for 70 minutes, including a short hover.
The £500 million GR9 upgrade is designed to give the RAF's fleet of Harrier GR7s the latest avionic systems and smart weapons capability.
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