The US Marine Corps has formally confirmed its retirement plans for the AV-8B Harrier fleet, with the official sundowning set to take place on 3 June, 2025, in Cherry Point, North Carolina.
The Harrier II has been in continuous service with the Marines for more than four decades, although the type’s legacy goes back even further than that. The USMC took delivery of the first AV-8A Harrier jump jet in 1971, making it the first force to field the aircraft.
In the recently published 2026 Aviation Plan, the US Marines confirmed that the Harrier will remain in operational service right up to its final flight.
The Harrier’s final flight for the US Marines
The AV-8B Harrier is seeing out its final days with Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 223, stationed at Cherry Point.
VMA-223’s final AV-8B detachment remains forward deployed with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, continuing to support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The remaining aircraft are at MCAS Cherry Point and will continue to meet operational tasking for the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) and the Marine Air Wing (MAW).
The Plan doesn’t specify how many Harriers are still in service with UMSC, but given that a squadron is usually around 10 aircraft, we can assume that the number of operational AV-8Bs is in the low double digits. At the start of 2026, the World Air Forces Directory estimated 78 still in service.
Regardless of the number of operational units, the USMC has been clear that the final flight will take place on 3 June. But for an important aircraft like the AV-8B Harrier, she will not be going quietly.
A week of celebrations is planned for the AV-8 Harrier’s retirement
According to information published by the 2nd MAW, the celebrations for the end of the Harrier era will begin on Monday, 1 June, and run through to Thursday, 4 June.
Bookending the celebrations are an evening social in downtown New Bern and a golf tournament at the Sound of Freedom Golf Course in Havelock. But the real fun is happening midweek.
Tuesday, 2 June, will see the US Marines throwing open their doors for the public to get up close and personal with the AV-8B Harrier. VMA-223 will host an open house in the daytime, from 10:00 to 15:00, including a static Harrier display and a simulator tour.
In the evening, the public events culminate in a festival in Havelock Park, complete with food and live music and, of course, a flyover of the AV-8B Harrier.
Wednesday, 3 June, will see the official sundown ceremony and final flight taking place from 10:00 to 11:00, followed by luncheon and an evening social. While not open to the public, this will be an important day for the thousands of Marines who have worked on, flown, mended and loved the Harrier over the decades.
“These activities will provide an opportunity for active duty, retired, contractor, and civilian communities to celebrate the aircraft’s and Marines’ historic contributions,” the force said in the Plan. “As the program concludes, efforts are underway to preserve the AV-8B’s legacy in aviation museums across the country.”
| Date | Time | Event | Location / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, June 1 | 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Evening No-host Social | Downtown New Bern, Location TBD |
| Tuesday, June 2 | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. | VMA-223 Open House | AV-8B Static Display, Simulator Tour |
| Tuesday, June 2 | 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. | Festival in Havelock Park | Open to Public, Food, Live Music, AV-8B Flyover |
| Wednesday, June 3 | 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. | Sundown Ceremony and Last Flight | Official Final Flight |
| Wednesday, June 3 | 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Luncheon | Location TBD |
| Wednesday, June 3 | 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Evening No-host Social | Downtown Morehead City, Location TBD |
| Thursday, June 4 | 9 a.m. | Golf Tournament | Sound of Freedom Golf Course |
| Thursday, June 4 | 6 p.m. | Ticketed Event – Gala | Formal Evening Event |
US Marines’ Harrier retirement leaves only two forces flying AV-8B
Having been jointly developed by the UK and the US, the Harrier maintained an important role for both forces for decades.
In the UK, both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy flew the Harrier jump jet. It saw combat in the Falklands War and later in Iraq and Afghanistan before the UK (controversially) retired its fleet in 2010-2011.
For the US, the Harrier has been an incredibly important aircraft. It flew extensively in the Gulf War, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and in Afghanistan and Libyan operations.
Even as recently as December 2023, Harriers from Marine Attack Squadron 231 (VMA-231), the “Ace of Spades,” were active against Houthi militants in the Red Sea region.
But with the type removed from British service and counting down its final weeks with the US Marines, only two forces now fly the Harrier.
The Italian Navy has 11 AV-8B+ Harriers in service, but has accelerated plans to retire the aircraft. Originally, Rome wanted to phase out the Harrier in 2030, but that has now been brought forward to 2028.
Spain, too, operates the AV-8B+ with the Spanish Navy from the carrier Juan Carlos I. Madrid had previously outlined plans to retire the Harrier by 2030, but since Spain ditched plans to procure the F-35B, it now has no STOVL replacement aircraft, which could see those plans pushed back.
What’s replacing the AV-8B Harrier at the US Marine Corps?
As the 2026 Aviation Plan makes clear, there is no like-for-like successor to the Harrier for the US Marines. Rather, the force is making a generational leap to something much more competent.
The AV-8B’s expeditionary short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) mission is being absorbed by the F-35B Lightning II, the Marine Corps’ fifth-generation variant of the Joint Strike Fighter. Alongside it, the carrier-capable F-35C continues to integrate into naval air wings.
The F-35B retains the STOVL capability that made the Harrier so valuable to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. It can operate from amphibious assault ships and austere expeditionary bases, preserving the Corps’ ability to deploy fixed-wing strike without relying solely on large-deck carriers.
By the end of 2026, the Marine Corps will have taken delivery of more than 260 F-35 aircraft across the B and C variants, with a long-term programme of record set at 420 aircraft. All fleet squadrons are currently structured around 10 primary aircraft authorised, with plans to expand to 12 aircraft per squadron in the next decade.
For the Harrier community, the transition is already well underway. The Aviation Plan confirms that experienced Harrier pilots and maintainers are moving primarily to the F-35B, ensuring that the Corps’ hard-earned STOVL knowledge does not disappear with the final AV-8B flight.
Featured image: UMSC
