Wanderlust World Wanderlust World The Marine Corps is often the first branch of the U.S. military called into combat in overseas conflicts. The Marine Corps Expeditionary forces usually encounter the enemy first and in close quarters. To help support the Marines, air power is often used to clear enemy lines, equipment and encampments. One essential tool that has been used for nearly 30 years is the Harrier jet, which can lift off or land in a way similar to a helicopter but can then reconfigure into a jet.
The U.S. Marines currently use the AV-8B Harrier jet. Using four thrusters mounted under the wings and pointed downward, the pilot guides the Harrier vertically to about 50 to 100 feet above ground. As the Harrier hovers, much like a helicopter, the pilot shifts the thrusters so the swiveling nozzles face the rear of the craft. This maneuver then propels the jet forward. Armed with a variety of cannons, missiles and bombs, the Harrier is a subsonic jet and can reach speeds of about 629 mph.
The concept of melding the agility of a helicopter with the speed of a jet has long been a goal of military organizations around the world. In the mid-1960s, Britain's aerospace industry succeeded with the development of the Harrier for that country's Royal Air Force. The U.S. Marine Corps took an almost immediate interest. After testing the Harrier, the Marines ordered a fleet in the early 1970s. The original Harrier was modified for the Marines and has evolved into the AV-8B Harrier. The Marines are the only U.S. service branch that fly the aircraft.
The Harrier is also known as a V/STOL type of aircraft. V/STOL stands for Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing. The craft is used to defend ground-based Marines and other troops in a variety of instances, including close air support, reconnaissance missions, escorting other aircraft and delivering ordnance, even at night. With its ability to lift off similar to the way a helicopter does -- or with adjustments, to take off on very short, sometimes make-shift runways -- the Harrier can be brought in much closer to support and defend troops than a traditional jet that requires set landing strips.
Another advantage of the Harrier is that, unlike traditional seaborne fighter craft, it does not need an aircraft carrier as its base. The Harrier can take off from smaller, amphibious ships that can cruise in shallower waters than a carrier. This means the Harriers are based much closer to ground troops, use less fuel and can fly more sorties because of the shorter distance.
The Harrier has been a problem aircraft for the Marines, with several non-combat accidents because of how difficult it is to fly. The single-seat fighter has seen combat in the first Gulf War, the Bosnian conflict and the current Iraqi and Afghanistan wars. Five Harriers were downed in the first Gulf War by anti-aircraft missiles, primarily because their thrusters generated such extreme heat that heat-seeking missiles could easily hone in on them. In 1999 and 2000, the Harrier fleet was grounded to correct problems that led the Los Angeles Times to refer to the accident-prone craft as "widow makers" in a series of articles that investigated the Harrier.