In the 1970s the USMC bought the AV-8A Harrier from the UK whose VTOL capabilities allowed it to serve as a tactical aircraft that could deploy with Marine forces on amphibious assault ships and provide air cover and close air support from large deck aircraft carriers. Third in a trilogy on US Marine Corps Harrier IIs in combat, it will be the first volume to cover the whole story of the AV-8B's service employment during peacekeeping operations and then in Afghanistan. With profile artwork for all frontline AV-8B units detailing the unique colours and markings applied by each squadron, this volume presents the widest variety of first-hand accounts of AV-8B air operations and missions by pilots and ground forces involved in Operation Enduring Freedom published to date.

Author Biography

Lon Nordeen has more than 35 years of aerospace industry and editorial experience. He has been employed on the staff of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing, where he worked in the areas of market research, communications and field marketing. He is also the author of eight books (including COM 90 - AV-8B Units of Shield and Desert) and more than 150 articles, and has been highlighted as a historian on multiple History Channel television programmes covering air warfare such as the Dogfight series. Jim Laurier is a native of New England, growing up in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He has been drawing since he could hold a pencil and throughout his life he has worked in many mediums creating artwork on a variety of subjects. He has worked on the Osprey Aviation list since 2000, and in that time he has produced some of the finest artwork seen in these volumes.