Spanish Navy AV-8B+ Harrier II Solo Display

The Spanish Navy AV-8B+ Harrier II Solo Display is one of the rarest jet demos currently flying in Europe. Operated by 9ª Escuadrilla from Rota in southern Spain, the act showcases the EAV-8B+ “Matador II+” — Spain’s upgraded, radar-equipped version of the U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B. The display pilot is drawn from the frontline squadron and alternates with a second demonstration-qualified pilot, so the Navy can cover operational tasking on board the amphibious assault ship Juan Carlos I (L61) and still support a small number of public events. At recent European shows, including RIAT 2023 and RIAT 2024, the Spanish jump jet was one of the absolute crowd favourites thanks to the hover segment.

A typical Spanish Harrier demo lasts around 10–12 minutes. It normally starts with a short/rolling take-off, a clean high-speed pass, a series of 4–5 g turns and wingovers to show agility, then the pilot slows right down for the vertical segment. At show centre you get the party piece: the aircraft transitions to a hover using its four rotating nozzles, intake doors and reaction-control nozzles — you can see the nozzle vector changing and hear the Pegasus engine working hard. The pilot will often perform “bowing” and sideways/ rearward translation to demonstrate full STOVL control, then converts back to wing-borne flight and departs to land. That sequence is unique in Europe right now.

Because this is an operational squadron and not a dedicated airshow unit, appearances are limited. For 2025 the Harrier was pencilled for high-visibility European events (Aire 2025 in Spain, RIAT 2025 in the UK, and Malta International Airshow 2025) but the jet was ultimately not deployed due to airframe availability and fleet tasking — so 2025 ended up being a non-flying year for the display, even though the squadron itself remained active. That’s typical of STOVL fleets: operational priority comes first, and displays happen only when an aircraft, pilot and ship schedule all line up.

The display also has a strategic communications angle in 2025: Spain has kept its Harriers in service while other European navies either retired them or are moving to the F-35B. Madrid examined an F-35B buy but in 2025 the government shelved the idea on cost/industrial grounds, meaning the Matador II+ will likely stay in frontline service on Juan Carlos I into the early 2030s. Showing a fully capable Harrier in front of the public is an easy way to prove the jet still has operational value.

The Spanish EAV-8B+ Matador II+ is the Armada Española’s designation for the radar-equipped AV-8B Harrier II Plus operated by 9ª Escuadrilla at Rota. Spain was the first export customer for the AV-8B, ordering 12 aircraft in 1983 to replace its earlier AV-8S Matadors; the first three EAV-8B arrived at Rota on 6 October 1987. In the 1990s the Spanish Navy followed up with eight AV-8B+ / EAV-8B+ Matador II+, delivered 1996–1997, fitted with the AN/APG-65 multi-mode radar (the same radar family used on early Spanish EF-18s). That sensor, together with AIM-120 AMRAAM compatibility, gives the Spanish Harrier a proper air-to-air/self-defence capability in addition to CAS and strike.

Like other second-generation Harriers, the Matador II+ is powered by the Rolls-Royce Pegasus 11-61 (U.S. F402-RR-408) vectored-thrust turbofan producing about 105 kN / 23,500 lbf of thrust. Four swivelling nozzles distribute that thrust — two “cold” (fan) and two “hot” (core) — and the pilot vectors them together with the nozzle lever to move from conventional flight to short take-off to full hover. Reaction-control jets in the nose, wingtips and tail keep the aircraft stable when it is in the hover.

Spain operates its Harriers from NAS Rota for day-to-day training and from the amphibious assault ship Juan Carlos I (L-61) for embarked operations (previously also from Príncipe de Asturias before its retirement). The ship’s ski-jump is optimised for STOVL jets, so the vertical/slow-flight segment you see at an airshow is essentially the same regime the aircraft uses at sea — which is why the Armada continues to invest in keeping the type current until a STOVL successor enters service.