Harrier maintenance

Insight into USMC Harrier maintenance. Will it make it to 2030?

As a harrier technician, I can say there is a lot more to this story than "the Harrier is difficult to fly and likes to crash a lot." In fact, the lack of depth kinda bothers me (let alone the discrepancies noted by kamajii). The Harrier fleet is aging rapidly and unlike the old standbys such as the C130, the Harrier isn't aging gracefully. There have been a dizzying number of airframe changes, modifications, and revisions. The 2+ Radar version is jam packed to the point where even routine maintenance can be a serious headache. Not only that but the supply system is tapped out. Major components are no longer being produced, simply sent in for "rework" and spit back out. Often with other problems. The Marine Corps recently aquired a huge stock of British Harriers simply for cannibalization purposes.

All of this adds up to a jet that is rapidly aging and becoming increasingly hard to maintain.