Well, Chiefy, instead of calling me an idiot, why don't you educate me. I'm interested to know what the Harrier has done in combat...who is shooting at it, what missions is it flying, what is its combat readiness profile?
Since VMA 211 rotated home is there even an active squadron in Afghanistan?
Ummmmm Ever hear of the Falkland Islands? All Harriers on the Brit side.
As for the US Harriers: (From Wikipedia)
The AV-8B saw extensive action in the Gulf War of 1990–91. Aircraft based on USS Nassau and USS Tarawa, and at on-shore bases, flew training and support sorties, as well as practicing with coalition forces. The AV-8Bs were to be held in reserve during the initial phase of the preparatory air assault of Operation Desert Storm. On the morning of 17 January 1991, a call for air support from an OV-10 Bronco forward air controller against artillery that was shelling Khafji and an adjacent oil refinery, initiated the AV-8B into combat.[85] The following day, USMC AV-8Bs attacked Iraqi positions in southern Kuwait. Throughout the war, AV-8Bs worked in concert with coalition forces to destroy targets, as well as performing armed reconnaissance.[85] During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the AV-8B amassed 3,380 flights and 4,083 flight hours,[86]
with a mission availability rate of over 90 percent.[87] Five AV-8Bs were lost to enemy surface-to-air missiles, and two Marine pilots were killed. The AV-8B had an attrition rate of 1.5 aircraft for every 1,000 sorties flown. US Army General Norman Schwarzkopf would later name the AV-8B among the seven weapons—along with the F-117 Nighthawk and AH-64 Apache—which played a crucial role during the war.[88][89] In the aftermath of the war, from 27 August 1992 until 2003, USMC AV-8Bs and other aircraft patrolled the sky over Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch. The AV-8Bs launched from amphibious assault ships in the Persian Gulf, and from forward operating bases such as Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait.[90]
The AV-8B again participated in a major conflict in the 1999, during NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia in Operation Allied Force. Twelve Harriers were split evenly between the 24th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU). AV-8Bs of the 24th MEU were introduced into combat on 14 April, and over the next 14 days flew 34 combat air support missions over Kosovo.
During their six-month deployment onboard USS Nassau, 24th MEU Harriers averaged a high mission-capable rate of 91.8 percent.[91] On 28 April, the 24th MEU was relieved by the 26th MEU, based on USS Kearsarge. The first combat sorties of the unit's AV-8Bs occurred two days later, with one aircraft lost. The 26th MEU remained in the theater of operations until 28 May, when it was relocated to Brindisi, Italy.[91]
USMC Harrier IIs participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan from 2001. The USMC 15th MEU arrived off the coast of Pakistan in October 2001. Operating from the unit's ships, four AV-8Bs began attack missions into Afghanistan on 3 November 2001. The 26th MEU and its AV-8Bs joined 15th MEU later that month. In December 2001, Harrier IIs began moving into Afghanistan to a forward base at Kandahar. More AV-8Bs were deployed with other USMC units to the region in 2002. The VMA-513 squadron deployed six Night Attack Harrier IIs to Bagram in October 2002. These aircraft each carried a LITENING targeting pod to perform reconnaissance missions along with attack and other missions primarily at night.[92]
The aircraft returned to Iraq during the Iraq War in 2003, acting primarily in support of USMC ground units. During the initial action, 60 AV-8Bs were deployed on ships such as the USS Bonhomme Richard and USS Bataan; over a thousand sorties were flown from the sea. When possible, land-based forward arming and refuelling points were set up to enable prompt operations.[93] USMC commander Lieutenant General Earl B. Hailston said that the Harriers were able to provide 24-hour support for ground forces, and noted that "The airplane... became the envy of pilots even from my background... there's an awful lot of things on the Harrier that I've found the Hornet pilots asking me [for]... We couldn't have asked for a better record".[93] Major General James F. Amos later commented on the AV-8B's performance in Iraq, stating: "I simply could not have been more pleased with the reliability of the airplane and its weapons systems... and in the courage and discipline of my AV8 pilots."[94]
Marine Corps sources documented the Harrier as holding an 85 percent aircraft availability record in the Iraq War, and in just under a month of combat, the aircraft had flown over 2,000 sorties. When used, the LITENING II targeting pod achieved greater than 75 percent kill effectiveness on targets.[93] In a single sortie from USS Bonhomme Richard, a wave of Harriers inflicted heavy damage on a Republican Guard tank battalion in advance of a major ground assault on Al Kut.[95] Harriers regularly operated in close support roles for friendly tanks, usually with one carrying a LITENING pod. Despite the Harrier's high marks, the limited amount of time that each aircraft could remain on station, around 15–20 minutes, led to some calls from within the USMC for AC-130 gunships to be procured; the AC-130 could loiter for six hours, and had a heavier close air support capability than the AV-8B.[96] AV-8Bs were later used in combination with artillery to provide constant fire support for ground forces during heavy fighting in 2004 around the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. The urban environment there required extreme precision for airstrikes.[97]
