page_title: British Aerospace Harrier II
section_title: Rundown
hierarchical_section_title: British Aerospace Harrier II / Operational history / Rundown
caption_attribution_description: English: British Aerospace Harrier GR9 (codes ZG502/73) arrives at the 2008 Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
context_page_description: The British Aerospace Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy. The aircraft was the latest development of the Harrier Jump Jet family, and was derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated accordingly as GR7 and GR9.
  Under the Joint Force Harrier organisation, both the RAF and RN operated the Harrier II under the RAF's Air Command, including deployments on board the navy's Invincible class aircraft carriers. The Harrier II participated in numerous conflicts, making significant contributions in combat theatres such as Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The type's main function was as a platform for air interdiction and close air support missions; the Harrier II was also used for presence projection and reconnaissance duties. The Harrier II served alongside the Sea Harrier in Joint Force Harrier.
context_section_description: In 2005, allegations emerged in Parliament that, following the transfer of servicing duties to RAF Cottesmore, the standard and quality of maintenance on the Harrier fleet had fallen dramatically; several airframes had been considerably damaged and one likely destroyed due to mistakes made, the time taken to perform the servicing had risen from 100 days to 155 days, and the cost per aircraft had also risen to more than ten times that of the prior arrangements performed by Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA).
  In 2006, the Sea Harrier was retired from Fleet Air Arm service and the Harrier GR7/9 fleet was tasked with the missions that it used to share with those aircraft. The former Sea Harrier squadron 800 Naval Air Squadron reformed with ex-RAF Harrier GR7/9s in April 2006 and joined by the re-formed 801 Naval Air Squadron in 2007. These later expanded and become the Naval Strike Wing. On 31 March 2010, No. 20 Squadron RAF, the Harrier Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), was disbanded; No. 4 Squadron also disbanded and reformed as No. 4 (Reserve) Squadron at RAF Wittering. All Harrier GR7 aircraft were retired by July 2010.
  The Harrier GR9 was expected to stay in service at least until 2018. However, on 19 October 2010 it was announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review that the Harrier was to be retired by April 2011. In the long term, the F-35B Lightning II, would operate from the Navy's two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. The decision to retire the Harrier was controversial, with some senior officers calling for the Panavia Tornado to be retired as an alternative; the decision having left Britain without any fixed-wing aircraft capable of flying from the navy's aircraft carriers.
  On 24 November 2010, the Harrier made its last ever flight from a carrier, incidentally also the last flight from the carrier HMS Ark Royal prior to retirement. The fleet's farewell to operational flights occurred on 15 December 2010 with fly pasts over numerous military bases. In November 2011, the Ministry of Defence sold 72 remaining Harrier IIs, along with spare parts, to the United States Marine Corps for £116 million (US$180 million); the aircraft to be used as a source of components for the AV-8B Harrier II fleet.
  According to a report by Air Forces Monthly, some of the 72 Harrier IIs were to fly again, as the USMC planned to equip two squadrons with GR.9/9A models due to the well-maintained condition of the airframes when inspected at RAF Cottesmore, where the aircraft were stored and maintained by a skeleton crew of technicians following their retirement. This was contradicted by the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in June 2012, who stated that the USMC never planned to operate ex-RAF Harriers.
caption: Harrier GR9 demonstrating its hover capability at RIAT 2008
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