RAF from Legacy Jets to Modern Warfare

As seen by Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth

Currently deployed on Operation Highmast, the Royal Air Force (RAF) finds itself at a fascinating crossroads of heritage and innovation. During Exercise Falcon Strike, British pilots are flying alongside Italian allies in a mixed fleet environment that includes aircraft deeply familiar to generations of RAF aircrew, the Harrier and Tornado. Once the backbone of British air power, these legacy platforms now operate in synergy with fifth-generation assets like the F-35B Lightning, creating a rich, layered battlespace where past lessons meet future capability.

This fusion of old and new mirrors the professional journey of Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, the man now charged with steering the RAF through one of its most significant transitions in decades. A combat-proven pilot and strategic thinker, Smyth’s path, from Harrier cockpits to the upper echelons of Defence leadership, epitomises the RAF’s evolution from legacy platforms to fifth-generation warfare.

From Cockpits to Command

Since enlisting in the RAF in 1991, Smyth has accumulated thousands of flight hours and participated in numerous operational missions across Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These campaigns have not only deepened his understanding of air warfare but also enhanced his appreciation for adaptability, a quality that has characterised the RAF's success for more than a century.

“Flying the Harrier taught us to be exceptionally agile and unconventional in our approach. The Lightning takes that mindset and supercharges it,” Smyth reflects.

Currently serving as Chief of the Air Staff, Smyth is guiding the RAF through a pivotal period. In response to the UK's recent Strategic Defence Review, the service is transitioning towards comprehensive warfighting readiness. This involves acquiring 12 F-35A aircraft and participating in NATO’s nuclear mission, as part of the government’s broader Plan for Change initiative, measures aimed at strengthening deterrence, increasing interoperability and ensuring the RAF continues to be a leading force in global security.

Vertical Thinking: From Harrier to F-35 B Lightning

Few aircraft have revolutionised air warfare as significantly as the Harrier. Upon entering service, its Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) capability marked not only a technological advancement but also a shift in strategic thinking. It reimagined the possibilities for projecting air power, allowing operations from roads, ships, and forward-deployed bases that were once unreachable for fast jets.

“STOVL isn’t just something the jet can do; it enables us to show up where others can’t. That can make a difference fast, especially in terms of readiness and responsiveness,” says Smyth.

The F-35B Lightning embodies the same spirit, enhancing the Harrier's philosophy by incorporating stealth, sensor fusion, and digital integration. These features collectively transform the Lightning into a strategic asset for contemporary missions, enabling it to conduct dispersed operations, support agile basing concepts, and sustain combat effectiveness in highly contested environments.

In the current unpredictable geopolitical environment, such agility is essential rather than just a tactical benefit. The F-35's capability to function from short or makeshift runways, along with its stealth and connectivity, enables the RAF to exert credible power even when under threat.

Multi-Role Mastery: The Tornado’s Tactical Legacy

Exercise Falcon Strike also reintroduces a historic icon, the Panavia Tornado, which was once the versatile mainstay of the RAF. For many years, Tornado squadrons offered an impressive array of capabilities: deep strike, reconnaissance, air defence, and electronic warfare. From enforcing no-fly zones to executing precision strikes, the Tornado's crews excelled in adaptability, effortlessly shifting between mission profiles and collaborating with coalition partners worldwide.

This ethos persists in the current F-35B Lightning. Today’s pilots function in a multi-domain setting where the distinctions between intelligence, strike, and defence are increasingly indistinct. Each Lightning serves not only as an aircraft but also as a sensor, shooter, and data node, a centre for real-time information exchange that enhances the situational awareness and decision-making of allies.

The Tornado taught the importance of flexibility, while the Lightning made it second nature. Combining fifth-generation fighters with older aircraft like the Typhoon and Tornado enhances operational complexity, enabling commanders to leverage the strengths of each platform within a cohesive, interconnected force structure.

From Platform to Ecosystem

Legacy jets such as the Harrier and Tornado excelled in an analogue era, where the success of a mission depended largely on the pilot's expertise and the capabilities of the aircraft. In contrast, today's battlespace is digital, interconnected, and abundant with information. However, the core principles of survivability, adaptability, and mission effectiveness continue to be enduring.

“What fifth-generation enables beyond legacy platforms is decision superiority—and that is battle-winning,” Smyth asserts.

This evolution is not simply about replacing metal with composites or adding sensors; it’s about transforming the way air power thinks and fights. Fifth-generation aircraft are not isolated platforms but integral parts of a combat ecosystem that includes cyber, space, and land domains. Information dominance, once the preserve of intelligence units, is now achieved in real time, cockpit to cockpit, through a fusion of sensors, data links, and AI-driven analysis.

Smyth often highlights that the most critical change is cultural, not technical. The Harrier and Tornado generations honed the art of innovation under pressure, adapting tactics to evolving technology and thinking beyond the cockpit. Those same attributes, he says, are essential in today’s unpredictable world, where agility, integration, and readiness are the ultimate force multipliers.

Looking Forward: A Legacy That Lives On

As the RAF operates across the Atlantic, Indo-Pacific, and NATO’s Eastern Flank, the influence of its legacy platforms continues to resonate. The Harrier’s agility and Tornado’s tenacity are encoded into the Lightning’s DNA, visible in every sortie that blends stealth, speed, and networked intelligence.

Today’s fifth-generation tactics did not emerge in a vacuum; they are the natural evolution of decades of hard-earned lessons. The courage, ingenuity, and discipline that defined previous generations of aircrew now underpin the digital battlespace.

Looking ahead, the RAF’s horizon extends beyond the F-35 to the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a sixth-generation collaborative effort with Japan and Italy designed to secure air dominance in the mid-21st century. Yet even as the service embraces this future, Smyth remains clear: the foundation for tomorrow’s breakthroughs lies firmly in the experience of the past.

“We stand on the shoulders of giants,” he reflects. “The innovation and courage of those who flew the Harrier and Tornado continue to guide how we think, train, and fight today.”

From legacy aircraft to the Lightning and beyond, the Royal Air Force's evolution exemplifies continuity amidst transformation, demonstrating how the experiences from past jets influence the strategies, technology, and ethos of today's fifth-generation force.