Arizona Museum Becomes New Home for Retired Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier

AV-8B Harrier [Courtesy: Naval Air Systems Command]

The Pima Air & Space Museum is the new home of a retired and demilitarized U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II+. The light attack jet was inducted into the Tucson, Arizona, museum Friday, Naval Air Systems Command announced.

The Harrier BuNo 165574, a vertical/short takeoff and landing fighter, first entered service in the Marine Corps in January 1986 and in July 2001 was remanufactured as an AV-8B II+ radar aircraft. The aircraft platform is able to operate from carriers and provides close and deep air support, including armed reconnaissance and air interdiction, and conducts offensive and defensive antiair warfare.

Over the decades, BuNo 165574 logged 1,539 combat flight hours and nearly 10,000 total flight hours in support of multiple Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments, NAVAIR said.

Major Robert Weede, Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 231 Aviation Maintenance Officer, center, brings an AV-8B Harrier II+ from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina to its new home at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, February 14, 2025. [Courtesy: Naval Air Systems Command]

“This is a unique opportunity to preserve and share a vital chapter in aviation history while playing a valuable role in inspiring future generations,” Colonel Mark Amspacher, AV-8B Weapon Systems Program Office (PMA-257) program manager, said in a statement. “I hope this piece of Marine Corps history and embodiment of innovation, courage, and dedication motivates younger generations to consider a career in aviation and service within the Marine Corps.”

The Pima Air & Space Museum is the largest nongovernment-funded aviation museum in the United States, boasting a collection of more than 400 aircraft representing multiple decades of military, experimental, civil, and commercial aircraft.