Airplanes To Be Scrapped For Parts To Keep U.S. Airplanes Flying

The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) has finalized a deal to sell as many as 72 surplus Harrier AV-8B VTOL aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps for use as spare parts. The U.S. DoD will pay $180 million for the aircraft.

File Photo

The sale was announced during debate in the British Parliament Thursday. "We have agreed the sale of the final 72 Harrier aircraft frames and associated parts which will be used as a major source of spares for the U.S. Marine Corps Harrier AV-8B fleet of aircraft," defence equipment minister Peter Luff told the body.

Reuters reports that the MoD cancelled the Harrier program and retired the fleet as part of a major cut in defense spending last year. The move was said to be a factor in BAE's announcement that it planned to cut up to 3,000 jobs in Britain, which has drawn fire from some members of Parliament. Opposition Labor leader Alan Johnson said BAE needs to "demonstrate that it's a British company that cares about British society and British jobs."

Luff told lawmakers that the money obtained from the sale of the surplus Harriers along with saving realized from retiring the older jets will allow for the investment in more modern aircraft, such as the F-35 JSF.

FMI: www.mod.uk