British Aerospace Sea Harrier FA2

Lessons from the Falklands led to approval in 1984 for an upgrade, first called FRS.2 and later FA2. The prototype flew in September 1988. The Blue Fox was replaced by the Blue Vixen pulse-Doppler radar — later the basis of the Eurofighter Typhoon's CAPTOR — and the FA2 became the first UK aircraft to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM. It also gained the Pegasus Mk 106, electronic countermeasures, a larger air-to-air load and improved cockpit displays.

Contracts covered 29 upgraded aircraft in 1988, 18 new-build FA2s in 1990 and four more conversions in 1994; the first FA2 was delivered on 2 April 1993. Royal Navy Sea Harriers supported NATO operations over Bosnia in 1992–1995, and FA2s later deployed to the Persian Gulf aboard HMS Illustrious, but the Pegasus 106 lost performance in hot Middle Eastern conditions, limiting the weight it could bring back to the ship.

Rather than fund an upgrade for a few more years of service, the Ministry of Defence retired the FA2 early; the last aircraft of 801 Naval Air Squadron were decommissioned on 29 March 2006. One ex-Royal Navy FA2, XZ439, was restored to flight by Art Nalls in the United States as the world's only privately owned, civilian-flown Harrier.