The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida has taken delivery of the last AV-8B Harrier built for the US Marine Corps, BuNo 166288, preserving the final aircraft from the service’s Harrier fleet as a static exhibit. The jet, flown by VMA-223 Bulldogs, the Marine Corps’ last Harrier squadron, was demilitarised before transport, with its wings removed for the road move and later reassembled for display.
The aircraft was retired from USMC service on 3 June, when VMA-223 carried out its final flight during a sundown ceremony at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. Delivered by Boeing in September 2003, the Harrier accumulated more than 5,800 flight hours before entering museum preservation.
The transfer places the last production USMC AV-8B in a public collection rather than an operational storage line, closing the service chapter for a type that spent decades supporting expeditionary Marine aviation. The museum display also fixes the aircraft’s final configuration as an educational exhibit tied to both the end of Harrier operations and the close of the US Marine Corps production run.