...Harriers are flying longer than they were initially expected to, said Jesse Sloman, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The fleet was supposed to be retired in 2012. “Since January 2015, the Marine Corps has undertaken an aggressive improvement program to improve Harrier readiness and those efforts are paying off as the number of available aircraft and flight hours available per pilot continues to climb,” Sloman said. “However, there’s no question that the Corps needs to acquire F-35s as quickly as possible to ensure the AV-8Bs can be retired on schedule.”..
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