Final USMC TAV-8B to complete overhaul returns to VMA-223

Another major milestone in the drawing down of the USMC’s McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II programme has been passed by the US Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) after it recently completed the final overhaul of the last dual-seat TAV-8B fighter-trainer at MCAS Cherry Point in North Carolina.

The newly overhauled TAV-8B (BuNo 163196 ‘WP’) was delivered to Cherry Point’s resident Marine Attack Squadron 223 (VMA-223) ‘Bulldogs’ – a component of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) – but US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) did not announce the completion of this effort until June 2. Completing the final overhaul of a USMC-operated TAV-8B marked a major milestone for not only the Marine Corps but also for FRCE and its AV-8 team, which has been working on the Harrier II since the type entered operational service in January 1985.

The last TAV-8B Harrier II (BuNo 163196 ‘WP’ ‘32’) to be overhauled by the FRCE’s AV-8 team is towed into a hangar at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, before being handed over to VMA-223 ‘Bulldogs’ on May 11, 2023. NAVAIR

Commenting on this specific TAV-8B and its history with the center, Jeff Broughton – an AV-8 planner with the FRCE – said: “I’ve been at FRCE for almost 32 years, and this aircraft is almost 35 years old, which means it was flying before I came here. I’ve spent 20 years on this programme, so you can imagine how many times I’ve seen this aircraft come through for Planned Maintenance Interval [PMI] events. I worked on it once while I was a mechanic and twice while I was a planner, so you get to know the history of the aircraft each time it comes through.”

According to Broughton, FRCE’s Harrier programme has established an impressive record of working ahead of schedule and under budget. He added that work on this particular TAV-8B over the years was estimated to take nearly 11,000 hours, but all of the work was actually completed in just 8,100 hours. The aircraft was also handed over to VMA-223 eight days earlier than planned on its last trip through the FRCE depot.

“We might be considered out of sight, out of mind as a sundowning programme, but the team is proud of being good stewards of the customer’s money and being on or ahead of schedule to keep the customer happy,” Broughton continued.

FRCE's AV-8 team poses in front of the last TAV-8B Harrier II (BuNo 163196 'WP' '32') to be overhauled by the center before it was returned to VMA-223 'Bulldogs' at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, on May 11, 2023. NAVAIR

The USMC is currently moving to replace its iconic Harrier II fleet with the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)-configured Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, with the transition scheduled to be completed by 2027. This means that those who have spent decades supporting the FRCE’s AV-8 programme will soon begin to transition to other platforms, such as the F-35B/C, Lockheed Martin KC-130J Hercules and Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion.

In the meantime, FRCE’s AV-8 team will continue to support the USMC’s single-seat AV-8B fleet and three more scheduled PMI inductions set to occur over the next year-and-a-half. During this process, the team will disassemble, inspect, repair, reassemble and test each aircraft. The team is also dismantling AV-8Bs that have been retired from use, cannibalising the jets for parts that can be refurbished and returned to the supply chain and used on the remaining fleet aircraft. FRCE’s AV-8 program is currently scheduled to complete its final aircraft in September 2025.