The end of the operational life of a Harrier II Plus and the process to send it to a museum

For many of us who are already a bit gray-haired and are aviation enthusiasts, the Harrier II is an excellent STOVL fighter aircraft.

A great demonstration of a Marine Harrier II in Cleveland before its farewell
The curious operation to disassembly the wing of a Harrier II fighter of the Spanish Navy

I still remember when the first three aircraft of this type acquired by Spain arrived at the Rota Naval Base in October 1987, to replace the aging AV-8S Harriers (called "Matador" by the Spanish Navy). I was 11 years old then. Today I am 49 and I still like the Harrier II as much as I did then. But sadly, the operational life of the Harrier II is coming to an end.

The US Marine Corps received its first Harrier IIs on 31 August 1984, reaching initial operational capability in January 1985 with Marine Attack Squadron 331 (VMA-331), a unit that was decommissioned on 1 October 1992 at the end of the Cold War. The Marines' Harrier IIs received their baptism of fire during the Gulf War (1990–1991), being deployed from the amphibious assault ships USS Tarawa (LHA-1) and USS Nassau (LHA-4), and also operating from land bases. Their first combat mission took place on 17 January 1991, specifically providing close support, one of their main roles.

The Harrier II proved to be a highly versatile aircraft with a high availability rate (over 90%), making it a key air system for the USMC. In the following years, Marine Harrier IIs served in Somalia, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, among other countries. Their worst day came on September 14, 2012, when the Taliban managed to destroy six Harrier IIs and severely damage two others in an attack on Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. In addition to the Spanish Navy and the USMC, this aircraft is still in use by the Italian Navy. The United Kingdom operated its own version, the BAE Harrier II, between 1989 and 2011, and it was highly regarded in that country.

Today, the US and Italy are in the process of retiring their Harrier IIs and replacing them with F-35Bs, a process that in Spain's case hasn't even started, something absolutely inexplicable. VMA-231 "Ace of Spades" bid farewell to the Harrier II on May 29, 2025 at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. Today, only one USMC squadron remains with Harrier IIs, the VMA-223 "Bulldogs", which has been using this model since 1987 and will retire them from service in September 2026. This aircraft once equipped up to nine squadrons in the Marines. We are witnessing the end of a great era of naval aviation.

Yesterday, the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, published a video showing the process for shipping one of the VMA-231 aircraft, the 04, to that museum, specifically an aircraft of the AV-8B Harrier II Plus variant, also operated by Spain and Italy and which introduced an APG-65 radar in the nose:

---

Main photo: U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Gregory Moore. Two Harrier II Plus aircraft from VMA-231 fly over Helmand province, Afghanistan, December 6, 2012.