Farewell to the “jump jet.”
The United States Marine Corps on Wednesday celebrated the end of service for the AV-8B Harrier II, the vertical takeoff and landing jet that’s been an icon of Marine aviation for 55 years, a favorite of air show spectators and, once, the subject of a controversial Pepsi TV commercial.
“As a platform that has continuously forward deployed across the globe, the Harrier will be remembered for its distinguished combat legacy, legendary Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing (V/STOL) capability, and the Marines and sailors that made the community special,” Lt. Col. John B. Cumbie, commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 223, said at a “sundown” ceremony for the last US unit to fly the Harrier.
About 5,000 people at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina watched as the jets showed off the capabilities that made them famous, including the ability to hover, to take off and land vertically.
Harriers are powered by a single turbofan engine, thrust from which is vectored out through four nozzles that can rotate from horizontal to vertical.
