On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, a ceremony was held at MCAS Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina, to mark the retirement from service with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) of the last Boeing AV-8B Harrier II short take-off and vertical landing combat aircraft, which had been operated by Marine Attack Squadron 223 Bulldogs (VMA-223). This brought to an end just over 41 years of operational service in the United States for the aircraft, known as the “jump jet.”
Photos: Staff Sgt. Maximiliano Rosas, Lance Cpl. Orlanys Diaz Figueroa, Lance Cpl. Bryan GiraldoLambert, Lance Cpl. Michael Robinson, and Lance Cpl. Donovan Pimentel / USMC
The retirement ceremony, known as a sundown, was held at the unit, which is subordinate to Marine Aircraft Group 14 of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The wing has been re-equipped with fifth-generation aircraft: the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B and the carrier-based F-35C Lightning II. It was part of a series of events held at MCAS Cherry Point between June 1 and 4.
A video of the ceremony is available on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) website. It shows that, during the farewell, a formation of five aircraft, including four single-seat AV-8Bs and one two-seat TAV-8B, performed final aerial displays, followed by a traditional water salute after landing.
In the coming months, the former US aircraft are expected to go to museums and to the storage facility operated by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Tucson, Arizona.
First flown in 1981, the AV-8B Harrier II was developed by the US company McDonnell Douglas, now part of Boeing, in cooperation with Britain’s Hawker Siddeley, later British Aerospace and now part of Airbus SE, on the basis of the revolutionary first-generation Harrier, which entered service as the Harrier GR.1, GR.3, AV-8A/C Harrier, and AV-8S Matador.
The aircraft entered service with the USMC in January 1985. Engineers redesigned the wing, giving it a composite structure, improved the cockpit, increased payload and fuel capacity, upgraded the avionics, and improved overall combat capabilities. The later AV-8B Plus variant received the AN/APG-65 radar from the F/A-18 Hornet, expanding its capabilities in both air-to-air and strike missions. The aircraft took part in many USMC expeditionary operations, including Desert Shield and Desert Storm, operations in the Balkans, campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, and missions in the Caribbean and the Middle East. Aircraft belonging to VMA-223 returned from a combat deployment on May 20 this year.
Following their retirement from the USMC, the aircraft remain in service with the Italian Navy, where they will be replaced by F-35Bs, and the Spanish Navy, which had also originally planned to replace them with F-35Bs but is now expected to introduce unmanned aircraft.
#Marines with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing take part in a sundown ceremony for the AV-8B Harrier II at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.
The “sundown” of the AV-8B Harrier II, an iconic aircraft that has supported joint and Marine Corps operations for over 40… pic.twitter.com/vGUqpJsGa5
— U.S. Marines (@USMC) June 3, 2026
#MarineCorps AV-8B Harrier II aircraft with Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing fly near the coast of North Carolina.
The “sundown” of the AV-8B Harrier II, an iconic aircraft that has supported joint and Marine Corps operations for over 40 years, also represents… pic.twitter.com/cb9Im8QwdO
— U.S. Marines (@USMC) May 24, 2026