AV-8B Harrier II Units of Operations Desert Shield and Desert... - 9781849084444

AV-8B Harrier II Units of Operations Desert Shield and Desert StormAuthor(s): Lon Nordeen, Jim Laurier\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, United Kingdom\nImprint: Osprey Publishing\nISBN-13: 9781849084444, 978-1849084444\nSynopsis\nThe first part of a trilogy covering the deployment of USMC Harrier IIs in the MiddleEast and Afghanistan.\n\nThe AV-8B is the only tactical aircraft that can deploy with Marine forces on amphibious assault ships and provide air cover and close air support separate from large deck aircraft carriers. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, a coalition of nations launched Operation Desert Shield in order to defend Saudi Arabia, and the Harrier II was among the first tactical air assets to be deployed to the region. During Operation Desert Storm, the five units flying the AV-8B in-theatre became some of the top tactical squadrons of choice by air mission planners because of the pilots' skill as well as the plane's vertical take-off abi.