An aviation era ended on June 3, 2026. At a “Sundown” ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, the last Marine Harrier squadron — VMA-223 — sent a five-ship formation into the sky to close out the AV-8B Harrier II, a jump-jet whose lineage in U.S. service stretches back to 1971.
The Jet That Could Hover
The Harrier’s defining trick was vertical and short takeoff and landing (V/STOL): using vectoring nozzles to take off from tiny decks and austere strips, and even hover in place. That let the Marines operate fast jets from amphibious assault ships and forward sites without a full-length runway — a capability almost no other fighter offered.
It was never an easy aircraft to fly, and its accident record reflected that. But for half a century it gave Marine commanders organic air power that could go where carriers and land bases could not.
Passing the Torch
The short-takeoff/vertical-landing mission now belongs entirely to the F-35B Lightning II, which keeps the ability to operate from amphibious ships and rough fields while adding the stealth and sensor fusion the Harrier never had. VMA-223 deactivates in September and is slated to return later this decade as an F-35B squadron — the same mission, a new generation of jet.