Harrier
Equipped with
the combat-proven APG-65 radar system, the newest member of the
AV-8 Harrier family — the Harrier II Plus — adds a
multimission capability to the vertical/short takeoff and landing
features that allow Harriers to operate where other fixed-wing
aircraft cannot.
The Harrier II was originally designed to provide responsive and
effective close-air support for U.S. Marine Corps ground forces
and to fly interdiction missions. The radar-equipped Harrier II
Plus can now perform not only a wider range of missions but
performs them around the clock and in adverse weather. The
Harrier II Plus radar also provides improved self-defense and
pilot situational awareness.
Both the Harrier II Plus and the night attack version are
equipped with an increased-thrust version of the Rolls-Royce
Pegasus F402-RR-408 engine.
The Harrier II Plus was developed through a three-nation
agreement among the United States, Spain and Italy. The U.S.
Marine Corps procured 27 Harrier II Plus aircraft; the Italian
Navy procured 16 Harrier II Plus aircraft and 2 TAV-8B aircraft,
and the Spanish Navy procured eight Harrier II Plus aircraft.
In an effort to update the day attack Harrier II, the U.S. Marine
Corps is conducting the Harrier II Plus Remanufacture Program.
Seventy-two day-attack Harrier IIs already in the fleet are being
converted into the more capable Harrier II Plus aircraft with a
new service life at a cost significantly lower than all-new
aircraft. Combined with the international orders, the
remanufacture program will ensure Harrier production throughout
the decade and a combat fleet for the USMC during the first two
decades of the 21st Century.
The Boeing Company, British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce teamed to
produce the AV-8B, as an upgrade to the AV-8A. The first
production AV-8B aircraft was delivered in November 1983.
Deliveries of night-attack Harrier IIs began in September 1989.
The U.S. Marine Corps received its first Harrier II Plus aircraft
in July 1993, and its first remanufactured Harrier II Plus in
January 1996.
The AV-8B was the first U.S. Marine Corps tactical aircraft to
arrive in theater during Operation Desert Storm. Harrier IIs
operated from an unused airfield and a small forward-based
airstrip, as well as from ships in the Persian Gulf. During the
42 days of combat, 86 Harrier IIs flew 3,380 combat sorties,
4,112 combat hours, and delivered more than six million pounds of
ordnance. Throughout Desert Storm, Harrier II squadrons achieved
an aircraft readiness rate greater than 90 percent. Harriers are
on constant deployment with Marine Expeditionary Units throughout
the world.