The AV-8B Harrier was, and still is, the only tactical aircraft that can deploy with the US Marine Corps on amphibious assault ships and provide air cover and close air support separate from large deck aircraft carriers. Having seen action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the Harrier II returned to the theatre from March 2003 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the initial conflict some 76 AV-8Bs were deployed, providing more than 40 per cent of the 3rd Marine Air Wing's fixed-wing offensive firepower. Around 60 of these aircraft were sea-based aboard four 'Harrier Carriers', while a unit flew jets from Ahmed al Jaber, in Kuwait. Unlike in 1991, when Harrier IIs employed unguided weapons, 79 per cent of the ordnance dropped was precision-guided. This was primarily due to the AV-8B's upgrading to Night Attack or radar-equipped configuration, and the introduction of the Litening II targeting pod. Following the occupation of Iraq by Coalition troops, Harrier IIs remained in-theatre supporting anti-insurgent operations through to 2008 as part of OIF II-VI.

Lon Nordeen worked for more than 40 years in aerospace at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and then as a manager of marketing communications and business development for a wide range of McDonnell Douglas/Boeing products (including the Harpoon/SLAM ER missile) and as a technical writer in defence, aviation and military technology. He has a long-term interest in aerospace, defence technology and military history. He is the author/co-author of more than 12 published books on these subjects, including four for Osprey. Lon lives near Ann Arbor, Michigan.