{"id":1472339,"date":"2026-06-03T13:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/harrier-sundown-ceremony-vma-223-final-flight\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T14:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T12:20:45","slug":"harrier-sundown-ceremony-vma-223-final-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/harrier-sundown-ceremony-vma-223-final-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s Over: Five Harriers Fly One Last Time at Cherry Point"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em>UPDATE \u2014 3 June 2026:<\/em><\/strong> <em>This post updates our earlier coverage of the Harrier retirement. <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/harriers-last-ride-marines-set-june-retirement\/\">Read the original article here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At 10:00 Eastern this morning, five AV-8B Harrier IIs from Marine Attack Squadron 223 \u2014 the &#8220;Bulldogs,&#8221; the last operational Harrier squadron in the United States Marine Corps \u2014 flew in formation over Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, touched down on the flightline, and shut their engines for the last time. Fifty-five years of vertical-landing jet combat, over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The sundown ceremony, held before a crowd of serving Marines, veterans, families, and aviation fans, marks the end of an era that began in 1971 when the Corps took delivery of its first AV-8A. The Harrier saw combat in every major American engagement from Operation Desert Storm through Operation Absolute Resolve \u2014 its final combat deployment, flying from the deck of USS Iwo Jima with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4f8;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:20px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\">\r\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#333\">Quick Facts<\/p>\r\n<ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px;color:#444\">\r\n<li><strong>Date:<\/strong> 3 June 2026, 10:00 EDT, MCAS Cherry Point, NC<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Final squadron:<\/strong> VMA-223 &#8220;Bulldogs,&#8221; Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Formation:<\/strong> Five AV-8B Harrier IIs in final flyover<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Service span:<\/strong> 1971\u20132026 (55 years of USMC Harrier operations)<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Successor:<\/strong> F-35B Lightning II (STOVL variant)<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Final deployment:<\/strong> USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), 22nd MEU, Operation Absolute Resolve<\/li>\r\n<\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">One Last Combat Run<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The timing was poetic and unplanned. VMA-223&#8217;s final deployment aboard USS Iwo Jima put the Harrier back in combat during Operation Absolute Resolve \u2014 giving the jump jet one last war before retirement. When those jets returned to Cherry Point, they went straight to the sundown ceremony rather than to maintenance. The Harrier ended its career the way it spent most of it: coming home from a fight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2058754893456761148&#038;theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The transition to the F-35B Lightning II has been underway for years, but the Harrier&#8217;s unique character \u2014 its ability to operate from roads, clearings, and tiny amphibious assault ships \u2014 gave it a flexibility that no other Western jet could match. Experienced Harrier pilots and maintainers are moving to F-35B squadrons, ensuring that the Corps&#8217; hard-won STOVL expertise survives the airframe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=554985763  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:ZTYb.bf4f\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/vma-223-harrier-amraam-exercise.jpg\" alt=\"VMA-223 Harrier during AMRAAM exercise\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">VMA-223 &#8220;Bulldogs&#8221; conduct an AMRAAM live-fire exercise \u2014 one of many firsts the squadron achieved in the Harrier&#8217;s final years. USMC photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Sundown Week<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The ceremony was the centrepiece of a four-day Harrier Sundown Celebration hosted by 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, running June 1\u20134. The week included squadron open houses, a gala, a 5K run, community events in Carteret County, and flyovers that gave the public one last chance to hear the Pegasus engine&#8217;s distinctive roar. The events were closed to general public at the flightline, but the surrounding community embraced the occasion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2048087687702430007&#038;theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">End of an Era<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>From the Falklands to Kandahar, from the decks of Tarawa-class amphibs to the highways of Norway, the Harrier did things no other jet could do \u2014 and it did them for more than half a century. Today it stopped. The Marines who flew it will tell you it was loud, hot, unforgiving, and magnificent. They&#8217;re not wrong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/erJThO7XXow\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: U.S. Marine Corps, DVIDS, Stars and Stripes, Seapower Magazine<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\">\r\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/harriers-last-ride-marines-set-june-retirement\/\">Harrier&#8217;s Last Ride \u2014 Marines Set June Retirement<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/after-43-years-the-marines-are-retiring-the-legacy-hornet\/\">After 43 Years, the Marines Are Retiring the Legacy Hornet<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPDATE \u2014 3 June 2026: This post updates our earlier coverage of the Harrier retirement. Read the original article here. At 10:00 Eastern this morning, five AV-8B Harrier IIs from Marine Attack Squadron 223 \u2014 the &#8220;Bulldogs,&#8221; the last operational Harrier squadron in the United States Marine Corps \u2014 flew in formation over Marine Corps [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":1472276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1472339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Harrier Sundown: Five AV-8Bs Fly One Last Time at Cherry Point<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Five AV-8B Harriers flew one last formation over Cherry Point on June 3, 2026, marking the official AV-8B Harrier retirement after 55 years of USMC jump jet operations. 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