McDonnell Douglas BAe AV-8B Harrier II

On 20 March 2011, USMC AV-8Bs were launched from USS Kearsarge in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn, enforcing the UN no-fly zone over Libya.

They carried out air strikes on Sirte on 5 April 2011.[90] Multiple AV-8Bs were involved in the defense of a downed F-15E pilot, attacking approaching Libyans prior to the pilot's extraction by MV-22 Osprey.

During its service life with the USMC, the Harrier has had an accident rate three times that of the Corps' other aircraft, the F/A-18 Hornet.

The AV-8 was dubbed a widow maker by some in the military.

The Los Angeles Times reported in 2003 that the Harrier family had the highest rate of major accidents among military aircraft in service then, with 148 accidents and 45 people killed.

Aviation author Lon Nordeen notes that several other USMC single-engine strike aircraft, like the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and LTV A-7 Corsair II, had worse accident rates.

The Harrier's high accident rate is largely due to the higher percentage of time it spends taking off and landing, which are the most critical times in flight.

The AV-8B is to be replaced by the F-35B version of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which had been slated to enter service in 2012.

The Marine Corps has argued strongly in favor of the development of the F-35B, considering the Harrier's performance in Iraq, including its ability to use forward operating bases, to have reinforced the need for a V/STOL aircraft in the USMC arsenal.

In November 2011, the U.S. Navy purchased the UK's fleet of 72 retired Harrier II aircraft (this figure included the 63 single-seat GR.7/9/9As plus 9 twin-seat T.12/12As and replacement engines to provide spares for the existing USMC Harrier II fleet.

A March 2012 report in the magazine Air Forces Monthly suggested that some of the 72 ex-British Harrier-IIs might fly again; the USMC planned to equip two squadrons with the latter GR.9/9A models due to the well maintained condition of the airframes at RAF Cottesmore, where the aircraft were stored and maintained following their retirement.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has since stated, however, that the USMC has never had any plans to operate the ex-RAF Harriers.

Spanish Navy

Spain, already using the AV-8S Matador, became the first international operator of the AV-8B by signing an order for 12 aircraft in March 1983.

Designated VA-2 Matadors II by the Arma Aérea de la Armada (Spanish Navy), this variant is known as "EAV-8B" by McDonnell Douglas.

Pilot conversion took place in the US. On 6 October 1987, the first three Matador IIs were delivered to Naval Station Rota.

The new aircraft were painted in a two-tone matt grey finish, similar to US Navy aircraft, and deliveries were complete by 1988.

BAe test pilots cleared the aircraft carrier Príncipe de Asturias for Harrier operations in July 1989. The carrier, which replaces the World War II-era Dédalo, has a 12° ski-jump ramp.

It was originally planned that the first unit to operate the aircraft would be the 8a Escuadrilla. However, this unit was disbanded on 24 October 1986 following the sales of AV-8S Matadors to Thailand.

Instead, 9a Escuadrilla was formed on 29 September 1987 to become part of the Alpha Carrier Air Group and operate the EAV-8B.

In March 1993, under the September 1990 Tripartite MoU between the US, Italy and Spain, eight EAV-8B Plus Matadors were ordered, along with a twin-seat TAV-8B.

Deliveries for the "Plus"-standard aircraft started in 1996.

On 11 May 2000, Boeing and the Naval Air Systems Command finalized a contract which would see the company remanufacture Spanish EAV-8Bs to bring them up to Plus standard.

Boeing said the deal required it to remanufacture two EAV-8Bs, with an option for another seven aircraft; other sources say the total figure was eleven aircraft.

The remanufacture would allow the aircraft to carry four AIM-120 AMRAAMs, enhance the pilot's situational awareness through the installation of new radars and avionics, and provide a new engine.

Eventually, five aircraft were modified, with the last delivered on 5 December 2003.

Spanish EAV-8Bs participated in Operation Deny Flight, enforcing the UN's no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Spain did not send its aircraft carrier to participate in the Iraq War in 2003, instead deploying F/A-18s and other support aircraft.

In 2007, Spain conducted a contractual study into a replacement for the Harrier II, the likely option being the F-35B.

According to a Lockheed Martin vice-president, Spain was still evaluating the F-35B as of 2010.

Italian Navy

In the late 1960s, following a demonstration of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier on the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) helicopter carrier Andrea Doria, the country began investigating the possibility of acquiring the Harrier.

Early efforts were hindered by a 1937 Italian law, which forbade the navy from operating fixed-wing aircraft because they were the domain of the air force. In early 1989 the law was changed to allow the navy to operate any aircraft with a maximum weight of over 3,300 lb (1,500 kg).

Following a lengthy evaluation of the Sea Harrier and AV-8B, an order was placed for two TAV-8Bs in May 1989. Soon a contract for a further sixteen AV-8B Plus aircraft was signed.

Except for the TAV-8Bs and the first three AV-8Bs, all subsequent Italian Navy Harriers would be locally assembled by Alenia Aeronautica from kits delivered from the US.

The twin-seaters, the first to be delivered, arrived at Grottaglie in August 1991.

They were used for proving flights with the Navy's helicopter carriers and on the light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Deliveries of the initial US-built aircraft began in early 1994 to MCAS Cherry Point for pilot conversion training. In 1995 the first Italian-assembled Harrier was rolled out.

In mid-January of the same year, the Giuseppe Garibaldi set off from Taranto to Somalia, with three Harriers on board, to maintain stability following the withdrawal of UN forces.

The Harriers, flown by five Italian pilots, accumulated more than 100 flight hours and achieved 100 percent availability during the three-month deployment, flying reconnaissance missions and other roles.

The squadron returned to port on 22 March.

In 2000, the Italian Navy was looking to acquire a further seven remanufactured aircraft to equip the Giuseppe Garibaldi and a new carrier, the Cavour.

Existing aircraft, meanwhile, were updated to allow them to carry AIM-120 AMRAAMs and JDAM precision-guided bombs.

Italian Harriers, operating from the Garibaldi, worked alongside Italian Eurofighters and the aircraft of other nations in the multinational 2011 military intervention in Libya for Operation Unified Protector.

Harriers conducted intelligence and reconnaissance operations over Libya, using the Litening targeting pods while armed with AIM-120 AMRAAMs and AIM-9 Sidewinders.

Marina Militare AV-8Bs are slated to be replaced by 22 F-35B versions of the F-35 Lightning II, operating from the Cavour.

Italian Navy AV-8Bs were deployed during the 2011 military intervention in Libya.

In total, Italian military aircraft delivered 710 guided bombs and missiles during sorties: Italian Air Force Tornados and AMX fighter bombers delivered 550 bombs and missiles, while the eight Italian Navy AV-8Bs flying from the carrier Garibaldi dropped 160 guided bombs during 1,221 flight hours.

Specifications (AV-8B Harrier II Plus)


Data from Nordeen, Boeing

General characteristics

Crew: 1 pilot

Length: 46 ft 4 in (14.12 m)

Wingspan: 30 ft 4 in (9.25 m)

Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.55 m)

Wing area: 243.4 ft² (22.61 m²)

Airfoil: supercritical airfoil

Empty weight: 13,968 lb (6,340 kg)

Loaded weight: 22,950 lb (10,410 kg)

Max. takeoff weight:

Rolling: 31,000 lb (14,100 kg)

Vertical: 20,755 lb (9,415 kg)

Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce F402-RR-408 (Mk 107) vectored-thrust turbofan, 23,500 lbf (105 kN)