Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson announces the resumption of AV-8B Harrier flight operations in Japan during a press conference Oct. 5, 2016 on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan following a Harrier mishap that occurred approximately 115 nautical miles off the coast of Okinawa, Sept. 22. US Marine Corps photo.
The Marine Corps will resume AV-8B Harrier operations out of Japan this Friday, after a Sept. 22 crash led to a two-week stand-down to inspect the planes and review procedures. Read More
AV-8B Harriers sit on the flight deck at night aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) on Oct. 3, 2014. US Navy Photo
The U.S. Marine Corps will phase out the Boeing AV-8B Harrier II jump jet by 2025 — about five years earlier than planned — and will instead extend the life of its fleet of aging Boeing F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters, according to the service’s recently released 2015 aviation plan. Read More
Former US Marine Lt. Col. Art Nalls with his restored Sea Harrier. Since military teams have canceled air shows dates due to budget cuts, Nalls has seen increased demand from air shows.
Art Nalls—air show performer and the owner/operator of what maybe the only working civilian Harrier jump jet in the country—may be one of the few people benefitting from recent military budget cuts.
Those spending reductions have bumped the Pentagon’s professional aeronautics teams—the Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds—off the air show circuit for the rest of the year, creating a demand for Nalls’ stubby-winged Sea Harrier to visit air shows: $35,000 for a 15-to-20 minute show.
“We’re turning away business,” the retired Marine aviator based in Washington, D.C. told USNI News on Monday.
“We shoot for six air shows. We got ten.” Read More
