Eight irreplaceable aircraft (the AV-8B has been out of production since 1999) have been destroyed or put out of action – approximately 7 percent of the total flying USMC Harrier fleet.
Worse yet, the aircraft involved were the AV-B+ variant equipped with the APG-65 radar and AAQ-28 Litening II targeting pods – the most capable in the force.
Given the current funding situation, it’s likely that the two damaged AV-8Bs will become spare parts “hangar queens” and never fly again.
A Harrier squadron commander is dead, along with another Marine.
Another nine personnel have been wounded, and the nearby Marines at Camp Freedom are now without effective fixed-wing air support.
The USMC’s response to this disaster will be a telling report card on its leadership and organizational agility.
2nd Marine Air Wing during the Vietnam Nam war. VMA 211 suffered its worse
since WWII at Wake Island?
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