Why America Loves the Powerful But Dangerous AV-8B Harrier

Arguably the most overlooked aircraft in the U.S. military inventory is the AV-8B Harrier. People seem to forget the Harrier exists, let alone has served admirably in the U.S. Marine Corps for forty years. But the Harrier’s time is indeed limited; the jump-jet is being phased out in favor of the significantly more advanced F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. By late 2025, the Harrier is expected to be fully retired.

Remembering the Harrier

I was fortunate to see a Harrier perform at the Oregon Air Show about ten years ago. The noise of the aircraft, while performing vertical or short take-off and landing (VSTOL) operations, was remarkable and piercing. But otherwise, the aircraft was humble in many respects, both in its appearance—rounded and conventional—and in its aerodynamic performance—stable and predictable. The jet’s inherent humility may partially explain why it generates so little attention or recognition. The other factor may be the Harrier’s home with the U.S. Marine Corps, the smallest and most niche of attack-aircraft-operating-service branches.

The closest the Harrier ever came to widespread recognition was undoubtedly thanks to James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who displayed the jet prominently in 1994’s True Lies. In the film, the Harrier can be seen (with USMC pilots at the helm) destroying the bridge between mainland Florida and the Keys. And then later, more memorably, with Arnold at the helm, doing battle in VSTOL mode in downtown Miami. Implausibility aside, the Harrier sequence is just great filmmaking, which helped True Lies land big at the box office as the year’s third-highest-grossing film behind only The Lion King and Forrest Gump.

Surviving the Harrier

With the exception of True Lies, what the Harrier may be best remembered for is its flawed safety record. Dubbed “the widow maker,” the Harrier is known for having an accident rate three times higher than the USMC’s F/A-18 fleet. Why so many accidents? First, the VSTOL flight envelope is inherently dangerous, requiring significant time spent in the most dangerous aspects of flying—takeoff and landing. So, the Harrier spends a lot of time close to the ground, hovering, descending/ascending to Earth at a slow speed. That’s a dangerous place to be. Also, the Harrier is a complicated and unique machine. VSTOL capabilities require a lot of moving parts relative to more traditional aircraft configurations. With moving parts comes an increased likelihood that something will go wrong mechanically. Then, of course, you have to factor in pilot error. VSTOL can be demanding on the pilot, asking pilots to perform operations that were not inherent to flight training either as a civilian or pilot trainee. Taking off and landing conventionally on a long runway is how pilots are trained; the VSTOL arrangement is new for anyone who gets slotted in the Harrier.

To underscore the point, Wikipedia has an entire page dedicated to “List of Harrier family losses,” which itemizes each incident in which a Harrier was destroyed or damaged to the point of being written off. The list is long.

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

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