The Marine Corps began operating Harriers in 1971, initially introducing the AV-8A and later the AV-8C, which represented the first generation of the aircraft and differed only slightly from their British predecessors. In 1985, the AV-8B Harrier II entered service, significantly modified with the participation of McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing, featuring upgraded avionics, a more powerful engine and larger wings that improved payload capacity and performance, while the later AV-8B Harrier II Plus variant added a multifunction radar and remains in service today.
According to the information provided, the official farewell ceremony and the last Harrier flight in U.S. service will take place on June 3, 2026, at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina. The base is home to the final operational unit still equipped with Harriers, Marine Attack Squadron 223, which formally falls under Marine Aircraft Group 14 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
VMA-223 currently maintains a detachment of AV-8B aircraft deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima as part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. The Harriers provide offensive air support, reconnaissance and air defense for expeditionary forces, and the squadron has participated in numerous combat operations beginning with Operation Desert Storm in 1991, while it is also widely remembered for the appearance of two VMA-223 Harriers and their pilots in the 1994 film “True Lies.”
Like other sister squadrons, VMA-223 will soon receive the modern F-35B, completing the Corps’ transition away from the Harrier platform. While U.S. service is ending, U.S.-built AV-8B aircraft will remain in operation for several more years in the naval aviation branches of Italy and Spain, whereas the United Kingdom, the original developer of the Harrier, retired the aircraft in 2010.
