The US Navy has awarded Boeing a $666 million multi-year contract to remanufacture 44 day-attack AV-8B Harrier II vertical short take-off and landing aircraft to the radar-equipped night-attack version. The USMC is converting 72 AV-8Bs to the Harrier II Plus configuration in the $2.3 billion programme, which stretches out to fiscal year 2003. A new fuselage, the Northrop Grumman APG-65 multi-mode radar and higher-thrust Rolls-Royce Pegasus F402-408 engine are among the enhancements.
Source: Flight International