Here’s what a Harrier Jump Jet’s vertical landing at night looks like through NVG vision

Harrier Nighttime Flight Deck Operations

Top image shows an AV-8B Harrier preparing to land on the flightdeck of amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) during night operations.

What makes the picture particularly interesting is the characteristic NVG signature of the Jump Jet about to land on the flight deck of the ship.

Makin Island is the flagship of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group and, with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is deployed in the Arabian Sea and it is going to replace USS Bataan, whose AV-8B Harriers of the 22nd MEU have conducted surveillance missions over ISIS forces in northern Iraq.

Here below is an interesting video showing AV-8B+ Harrier jets on the flight deck of USS Kearsarge sailing off the coast of North Carolina back in 2013.

The Jump Jets belong to the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 266 (Reinforced) of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).

 

Top Image credit: U.S. Marine Corps

 

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.