The U.S. Marine Corps honored the legacy of the AV-8B Harrier II and the Marines who served with it in a ‘Sunset Ceremony’ at MCAS Cherry Level, residence to the kind’s final operational unit.
The U.S. Marine Corps stated goodbye to the long-lasting AV-8B Harrier II, which has supported joint and Marine operations for over 40 years. The service held a “Sunset Ceremony” on June 3, 2026, at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Level, North Carolina, residence to the “Bulldogs” of Marine Assault Squadron (VMA) 223, the kind’s final operational unit.
The British-designed “leap jet” was born because the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, and initially entered service within the USMC as AV-8A Harrier in 1971. The plane was later launched in 1985 because the improved AV-8B Harrier II and later the radar-equipped AV-8B+ variants which served till the retirement.
Numerous occasions have been deliberate to honor the legacy of the AV-8B Harrier II and the Marines who served with it. These span 4 days from June 1 to 4, together with the day of the particular farewell on June 3.
The ceremony, which was additionally live-streamed on the DVIDS community, included a five-ship formation flyover, with the Harriers later touchdown in entrance of the gang. The plane – 4 single seaters and a twin seater TAV-8B – had been met by the celebratory water cannon salute.
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Though the Jun. 3 flight marked the tip of Marine Corps Harrier operations, the plane should be seen flying within the coming months as remaining examples are ferried to museums and the “boneyard.” VMA-223 is predicted to stay lively till later this yr, earlier than its deactivation in September.
The AV-8B Harrier II
The Harrier occupies a singular place in army aviation historical past because the world’s first operational vertical and brief takeoff and touchdown (V/STOL) jet fighter. The plane was developed from the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier and later developed into the AV-8B by way of a U.S.-British partnership, which reworked it in way more succesful plane to fulfill the USMC’s wants.
The plane gave Marine commanders a functionality unavailable to most different tactical air forces: the flexibility to function fixed-wing assault plane from austere places, ahead working bases, expeditionary airfields, and amphibious assault ships. This allowed to assist Marines in a singular means, with the plane usually deployed on the identical amphibious assault ships utilized by the Marines’ floor models and cementing the bond between air and floor parts.
The AV-8B launched important enhancements over earlier Harrier variants, together with a redesigned wing, higher payload capability, enhanced avionics, and improved fight endurance. Later AV-8B+ plane obtained the identical radar system utilized by the F/A-18 Hornet, the AN/APG-65, increasing their functionality in each air-to-air and precision-strike missions.
All through its service, the Harrier turned synonymous with Marine expeditionary operations. The plane participated in quite a few conflicts and fight deployments, together with Operations Desert Defend and Desert Storm, operations within the Balkans, campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more moderen missions within the Caribbean and the Center East.
Even throughout the closing years of its service life, Marine Harriers continued conducting operational deployments and fight missions. VMA-223, the Harrier’s final operational unit, returned from the ultimate deployment on Could 20, 2026.
Whereas the Harrier’s service with the Marine Corps has come to an finish, its affect on expeditionary aviation stays important. For greater than 40 years, the plane supplied Marines with a singular means to venture airpower from places inaccessible to standard fighters, shaping operational ideas that proceed to affect fashionable distributed aviation operations.
The F-35B Lightning II, the Brief Take Off and Vertical Touchdown (STOVL) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, is ready to proceed the Harrier’s legacy. Lots of the squadrons which operated the Harrier have already transitioned to the F-35B, with VMA-223 additionally anticipated to start this transition quickly.
Just like the Harrier, the F-35B retains STOVL functionality, permitting it to function from amphibious assault ships and expeditionary bases. Nonetheless, it combines that flexibility with stealth traits, superior sensors, sensor fusion, and considerably higher survivability in contested environments.
The Harrier’s retirement leaves solely a handful of operators worldwide. Actually, the plane continues to serve with the Italian and Spanish navies till 2030, with the Italian Navy already taking deliveries of F-35Bs to switch the Harrier.
From British Innovation To A Marine Corps Mainstay
The Harrier’s story started within the UK throughout the late Nineteen Fifties and early Nineteen Sixties, when British engineers sought to develop a fight plane able to working with out typical runways. The outcome was the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, which employed the revolutionary Rolls-Royce Pegasus turbofan engine and its 4 swiveling exhaust nozzles to realize vertical and brief takeoff and touchdown (V/STOL) functionality.
The plane entered service with the Royal Air Pressure in 1969, and shortly demonstrated that fixed-wing jets might function from dispersed places, decreasing their dependence on weak air bases. This was a extremely sought functionality throughout the Chilly Battle, with European nations trying to options to protect fight air energy within the occasion of a battle between the 2 blocks.
The U.S. Corps, which had lengthy emphasised expeditionary warfare and the flexibility to deploy forces quickly from austere places, acknowledged the potential of the Harrier idea. In 1971, the service adopted the AV-8A Harrier, turning into the primary and largest international operator of the plane.
Following the optimistic suggestions, the Marine Corps sought a extra succesful plane with higher vary, payload, and survivability. This led to the event of the AV-8B Harrier II, a considerably redesigned variant created by way of cooperation between McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace.
First flying in 1981 and getting into Marine Corps service within the 1985, the AV-8B featured a bigger composite wing, improved cockpit, higher gasoline capability, and enhanced efficiency in contrast with earlier fashions. Over the next a long time, the Harrier II turned a central part of Marine aviation.
The plane participated in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the place it flew tons of of fight sorties in assist of coalition floor forces. It later noticed motion throughout operations over the Balkans, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, counterinsurgency campaigns all through the Center East, and quite a few Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments aboard amphibious assault ships.
Steady upgrades stored the platform related nicely into the twenty first century. The AV-8B Night time Assault variant launched superior sensors for round the clock operations, whereas the AV-8B Harrier II Plus included the AN/APG-65 radar, offering improved concentrating on and air-to-air capabilities.
These enhancements allowed the plane to stay operationally efficient till the arrival of its successor, the F-35B Lightning II. The jet now absolutely inherited the Marine Corps’ requirement for brief takeoff and vertical touchdown operations whereas bringing fifth-generation capabilities to the mission.
The alternative of the Harrier was deliberate for a number of years as a part of the Marine Corps Aviation Plan and the broader Tactical Plane Transition Plan. The service decided that the AV-8B reached the tip of its deliberate service life, paving the best way for an entire transition to fifth-generation plane.
Harrier squadrons step by step stood down over the previous decade. By 2026, VMA-223 remained the one operational AV-8B squadron, with a detachment supporting Marine Expeditionary Unit operations within the Caribbean as a part of the kind’s closing deployment.
Over its service life, the Harrier II turned a synonym of USMC aviation. For the general public, the long-lasting “leap jet” was additionally an attraction at airshows, hovering in entrance of the gang like an helicopter can do, and saluting on the finish of the demonstration with the “Harrier Bow.”
For a lot of Marines, nonetheless, the Harrier’s retirement represents greater than the lack of an plane sort. The platform developed a devoted neighborhood of pilots and maintainers who mastered one of the vital demanding plane in army service, whose distinctive flight traits required specialised coaching and experience that distinguished Harrier operators all through the years.
