Retiring A Venerable Aircraft After 40 Years
The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II has been in service with the U.S. Marine Corps for over 40 years but their days in service are numbered as the Corps transitions to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Harriers have been used as close air support for ground troops, reconnaissance, deterrence, and even humanitarian missions. As recently as this year they were deployed in a deterrence capacity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.