Free Republic

A Harrier is attended by ground crew at an airbase in southern Italy in 1999, when the planes were involved in Nato attacks in the former Yugoslavia The Royal Navy's entire fleet of Harrier jump jets, the British plane controversially scrapped in last year's defence review, has been saved – by the US military. All 74 of the planes, which were permanently grounded by the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), are to fly again for the US marines, in a deal that is expected to be closed within a week. The Ministry of Defence said negotiations were continuing but...

U.S. Marine Corps Negotiates Buying Decommissioned British Harriers The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have agreed to buy Britain’s entire decommissioned fleet of 74 Harrier GR-9 and 9A Vertical/Short take off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter jets – a move expected to help the Corps operate Harrier jump jets into the mid-2020s and possibly replace aging two-seat F-18D Hornet strike fighters currently used for night attacks, Navy Times reports. A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence confirmed the Disposal Services Agency was in talks with the U.S. Navy for the sale of the Harriers, their engines and spare parts. The...