AV-8B Harrier II Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom I-VI (Combat Aircraft)

The AV-8B was, and still is, the only tactical aircraft that could deploy with Marine forces on amphibious assault ships and provide air cover and close air support separate from large deck aircraft carriers. Having seen action in-theatre during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the Harrier II was heavily involved in action once again over Iraq from March 2003 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom I/II. In the initial conflict, some 76 AV-8s were deployed - providing more than 40 per cent of the 3rd Marine Air Wing's fixed-wing offensive firepower. Around 60 of these aircraft were sea-based aboard four 'Harrier carriers', while two units flew from Ahmed al Jaber, in Kuwait. Unlike in 1991, when the Harrier II units employed unguided weapons - dumb bombs, cluster bombs and napalm - in 2003 79 per cent of the ordnance dropped was precision-guided. This was primarily due to the AV-8B's upgrading into Night Attack or radar-equipped configuration, and introduction of the Litening targeting pod. This book is the second of three volumes on USMC Harrier IIs in combat, and it will be the first volume in print to cover the whole story of the AV-8B's service employment in Iraq.