A pair of McDonnell Douglas EAV8B Harrier II+ aircraft from 9ª Escuadrilla Aeronaves (9th Aeronaval Squadron), Armada Española (Spanish Navy) took part in the flying display during The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) 2023 at RAF Fairford, UK. One of them is seen in a unique display together with a Royal Air Force (RAF) Lockheed Martin F35B Lightning from 617 Squadron 'The Dambusters', based at RAF Marham. This display was on the Sunday of the Airshow. Pilot of the Spanish Harrier was Capitán de Corbeta (CC) Andres 'Andy' Medina.

The McDonnell Douglas AV8B Harrier II was a joint project between the US and UK to develop a new generation of Harrier. The UK initially left the project in 1975 only to rejoin it after the aircrafts first flight in 1981. The key differences between the original Harrier and the Harrier II were a more powerful engine, a larger composite wing with additional hard points, a better structure and an elevated cockpit. The Harrier II entered service with the RAF as the Harrier GR.5 which was later upgraded into the GR.7 and GR.9 variants before they were eventually retired in 2010. In the US the AV8B went through a number of upgrades eventually creating two variants the AV8B(NA) standing for night attack and the AV8B+ Harrier II Plus which featured an APG65 mutimode radar giving the aircraft the ability to carry the Aim120 Amraam beyond visual range air to air missile.

In October 1972 the Spanish Navy took a step forward integrating into the Harrier V/STOL program developed by Hawker Siddeley. In 1987 12 AV8S were procured and formed the core of the 9th Squadron. The first three units, purchased from the United States, arrived on October 6th 1987 and were dubbed 'Cobras', although the official name for the first AV8S aircraft in Spanish service was the 'Matador'. The VA.1 Matador was the Spanish designation for the AV8S which, in turn, was the export designation of the USMC AV8A. This Matador was produced in two production batches under the company designations of Harrier Mk 53 (first batch) and Harrier Mk 54 (second batch) respectively. A twoseat trainer Matador also existed under the designation of VAE.1, a Spanish designation for the TAV8S which, in turn, was the export designation of the same TAV8A in service with the USMC. 9 of these aircraft went on to serve with the Spanish Navy until 1996, when they were sold to the Royal Thai Navy. These were superseded in Spanish service from 1987 by the EAV8B Harrier II which have also since been replaced with the radar equipped EAV8B Harrier II Plus, 12 of which remain in service, together with 1 two seat TAV8B model.
The Harrier II PLUS has a totally redesigned and larger fuselage. New wing fuel tanks were incorporated and RollsRoyce Pegasus 1161 (US designation F402RR408) engines installed. The plane has carbonfibre composite leading edge root extension wings (LERX).
However, the main feature is the nose with its stateoftheart AN/APG65 pulse Doppler radar with different configurations: airair, airsurface with an advanced multimode, allweather, day and night system. In 1996 and 1997 8 further 'Harrier' II PLUS were built under licence in Spain by Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A.

This aircraft is the same model as that also still flown by the United States Marine Corps and the Italian Navy.

Today the entire Spanish Harrier fleet is operated by 9 Escuadrilla who are based at Rota and operate from the Juan Carlos 1 amphibious assault ship.The Squadron has since clocked up more than 50,000 flight hours. The Spanish Navy is expecting to retain the Harrier in service until 2030 and intends to continue upgrading its Harrier squadron with better versions in order to keep this valuable tactical asset fully operational.

For an interesting overview of the team and Spanish Navy operation of the Harrier II Plus there is an interesting article here:
https://www.airshows.co.uk/features/2...

The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy both operate the Lockheed Martin
F35B, currently as part of the Joint Lightning Force based at RAF Marham. Known simply as the Lightning in British service, it has replaced the Harrier GR9, which was retired in 2010, and Tornado GR4, which was retired in 2019. No. 617 (The Dambusters) Squadron are the RAF's first operational F35B squadron.

The UK has ordered 48 F35B's. As of November 2022, 26 F35Bs were based in the United Kingdom (with 617 and 207 Squadrons) and a further three were permanently based in the United States (with 17 Squadron) for testing and evaluation purposes.

Video and Audio content is Copyright © High Flight