The Wings Over the Rockies Air and House Museum confirmed in a video of a U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B+ Harrier II was demilitarized and moved to its new house.
The Wings Over the Rockies Air and House Museum in Colorado acquired a U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B+ Harrier II STOVL (Brief Take-Off Vertical Touchdown) plane earlier this month, and the establishment launched a brief documentary function in regards to the plane’s demilitarization course of. The Harrier was flown by Marine Corps pilot Capt. Ryan Gettinger from MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Cherry Level, North Carolina, to Buckley House Power Base, in Aurora, Colorado.
At Buckley SFB, the plane was “demiled,” its wings eliminated after which put with the airframe on two flatbed vehicles for the 9 mile journey to the museum, the place the wings had been put again collectively once more. The museum’s curator Stewart Bailey spoke to Gettinger and Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CWO2) Neil Vislosky in regards to the steps concerned within the demilitarization course of and the general temper of their and the Harrier’s squadron, the VMA-231 “Ace of Spades,” as they transition to the F-35B Lightning II.
The AV-8B+ Harrier II in query, BuNo 165587 – Modex 04, was assigned to VMA-231, and was among the many 5 plane from the squadron which performed their remaining flight at MCAS Cherry Level in a ceremony on Might 29, 2025 forward of the squadron’s deactivation in September 2025.
A yr prior, in Might 2024, MCAS Cherry Level had additionally held its remaining airshow with the AV-8B Harrier II amid a bittersweet temper amongst each the general public and the unit’s members. Curtains started drawing on the Harrier’s service with the Corps on Sep. 26, 2024, when the Fleet Readiness Middle East (FRCE) delivered the ultimate “Bounce Jet” to VMA-223 (Marine Assault Squadron 223) “The Bulldogs.”
The demilitarization course of and the journey to the museum
Capt. Gettinger pointed to Bailey how the plane’s “absolutely hydraulic, mechanically managed” system with out digital fly-by-wire makes it a “fairly difficult plane to fly.” In regards to the journey from MCAS Cherry Level to Buckley SFB, he noticed that the Harrier’s Rolls Royce Pegasus turbofan engine didn’t generate sufficient energy for the altitude and Colorado’s rarified air, due to which he needed to conduct a “rolling” touchdown, as an alternative of the vertical hover descent.
Marines then started the “demil” (demilitarization) course of, which concerned “taking off panels” and “going into stuff” contained in the airframe. Because the plane will now not fly, essential and proprietary elements that Boeing (which acquired McDonnell Douglas) and the Marine Corps would nonetheless favor guarding are eliminated, in addition to elements which may nonetheless be helpful.
A crew of at the least 20 Marines had been seen disembarking a USMC KC-130J Hercules along with gear to assist the work. A number of panels and the SJU 4/A ejection seat are eliminated throughout the preparation, earlier than being later reinstalled. Actually, a shot of the Harrier contained in the museum’s hangars confirmed the ejection seat contained in the cockpit, that means the Marine crew eliminated its pyrotechnics and explosive fees after which reinstalled the seat.
CWO2 Vislosky stated one of many major gadgets they take away throughout the demilitarization are all explosives, notably those used to propel the ejection seat and to separate the cover. Different hazardous materials consists of batteries, hydraulic fluids, oil and gas that may leak from the plane in a museum. “Then we take away the delicate elements from the plane, stuff that the federal government desires to retain,” Vislosky stated.
The video confirmed a pipe and a coupling connected to a port exterior the engine, probably getting used to take away the fluids. The categorized programs talked about could possibly be very important mission programs, communications suites, navigation computer systems or the radar. Sgt. Fait Peele, an airframe mechanic with VMA-231, stated in addition they “deservice” the plane struts, absolutely compressing them, and take away the “emergency blow down bottle.”
Vislosky summed up that the demil solely issues inside elements, and “stuff beneath panels,” however the plane would look precisely like an everyday Harrier from the surface whereas contained in the museum. “You possibly can see the engine, seat and the HUD [Head Up Display],” he added. After the wing elimination and the journey to the museum, “the plane was lowered and the reassembly course of started,” added Bailey within the narration.
Marine Corps transitioning to F-35s
Falling throughout the 2nd MAW’s MAG-14 (Marine Plane Group 14), VMA-231 is slated to reactivate because the VMFA-231 (Marine Fighter Assault Squadron-231) to function the F-35B Lightning II by 2026. Because the Marine Corps’ oldest flying squadron, VMA-231 was first commissioned in 1919 and adopted the Harrier II in 1985. The unit served with distinction in a number of abroad operations like Operations Desert Protect, Desert Storm, Allied Power, Odyssey Daybreak, Inherent Resolve, and, most not too long ago, Prosperity Guardian.
VMA-231’s commanding officer Lt. Col. Paul Truog known as the Might 29, 2025,, remaining flight a “momentous day” within the press launch, including that the 2nd MAW, the Marine Air Group and the squadron “are going to be extra able to responding to any disaster,” referring to the longer term arrival of the F-35B.
“However that functionality is not only as a result of it’s our most technically superior weapons system,” Truog additional stated in his remarks. “That functionality is due to the Marines and the pilots that, in report quantities, elevate their palms saying, ‘I wish to proceed on, I wish to hold transferring ahead.’”
On Sep. 17, 2024, MCAS Cherry Level’s VMFA-251 “T-Bolts” (or Thunderbolts) acquired its first F-35C Lightning II, making the unit the East Coast’s first operational F-35C squadron. Additionally throughout the MAG-14, VMFA-251 marked the 2nd MAW’s transition from the legacy fixed-wing tactical plane to fifth technology stealth fighters. The unit’s earlier plane was the F/A-18C/D Hornet, which it started flying in 1986.
After VMA-231, the Corps’ different final remaining Harrier squadron talked about earlier is VMA-223, “The Bulldogs”. On Jan. 4 2024, VMA-223, beneath the 2nd MAW’s MAG 14, acquired its remaining two pilots skilled on the Harrier at MCAS Cherry Level, after finishing flight coaching for the 7509 MOS (Navy Occupational Specialty) on the FRD (Fleet Alternative Detachment).
An AV-8B Harrier II unit that declared an IOC (Preliminary Working Capability) with the F-35, in its case the ‘C variant, on Jul. 1, 2024 was the VMFA-311 “Tomcats” beneath the third MAW inside MAG-11. The unit was designated VFA-311 till being disbanded in 2020 whereas working the legacy “bounce jet.”
In 2022, the Corps’ Lightning II acquisition plans comprised 353 F-35B STOVL (Brief Take-Off Vertical Touchdown) and 67 F-35C CATOBAR (Catapult Take-Off Barrier Restoration) jets, for a complete of 420 plane to be acquired at a price of roughly 20 per yr. Nevertheless, the MAP (Marine Aviation Plan) launched in Feb. 2025, as per stories, diminished the F-35B’s quantity to 280 and raised the F-35C’s stock to 140, whereas retaining the overall fleet quantity to 420 airframes.
