An AV-8B Harrier, assigned to the “Bulldogs” of Marine Attack Squadron 223, prepares to land on the flight deck during an alternate approach training evolution aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima over the Atlantic Ocean, June 27, 2025. (Joseph T. Miller/U.S. Navy)
(Tribune News Service) — Oregon aviation enthusiasts have a new historic aircraft to adore.
The Tillamook Air Museum announced Wednesday that it will receive a historic, combat-tested fighter jet, an AV-8B Harrier II, which will join its permanent collection.
On Aug. 4, the jet will be flown directly to Tillamook from a U.S. Navy test facility in California’s Mojave Desert, the museum said. The aircraft’s arrival under its own power marks “a rare and historic moment for the region.”
Initially designed in the 1970s, the AV-8B Harrier II model was first introduced into the U.S. Marine Corps in 1985. The Harrier that will join the collection in Tillamook has logged 5,518 total flight hours, including 631 combat hours flown across 88 missions since its introduction in 1995, according to the museum. During its 30-year career, the jet was flown in operations in Iraq and Syria, and was used in roles in Singapore, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and the Arabian Gulf.
Harrier jets were a fixture of 1980s and ’90s pop culture, featured in movies, TV shows and video games. The AV-8B Harrier II was featured in 1994 film “True Lies” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
After arriving on the north Oregon coast, the aircraft will be demilitarized and prepared for permanent exhibition, the museum said. It is being provided on long-term loan by the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
“This aircraft represents an extraordinary chapter in modern military aviation,” museum curator Christian Gurling said in a news release. “We are proud to accept this historic piece of Marine Corps history. Acquisitions such as this are fast positioning the Tillamook Air Museum as a world-class destination for aviation heritage, as we continue to broaden and enhance the scope of our exhibits.”
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