Harrier GR5 / GR7 / GR9
An RAF Harrier GR9 over Afghanistan, 2008
Role	V/STOL strike aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom / United States
Manufacturer	British Aerospace / McDonnell Douglas BAE Systems / Boeing
First flight	30 April 1985[1]
Introduction	December 1989[1]
Retired	March 2011
Status	Retired
Primary users	Royal Air Force (historical) Royal Navy (historical)
Number built	143[2]
Developed from	Hawker Siddeley Harrier McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II

The British Aerospace Harrier II was a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest development of the Harrier Jump Jet family, and was derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated accordingly as GR7 and GR9.

Under the Joint Force Harrier organisation, both the RAF and RN operated the Harrier II, including routine operational deployments on board the navy's Invincible class aircraft carriers. The Harrier II participated in numerous conflicts, making significant contributions in combat theatres such as Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The type's main function was as a platform for air interdiction and close air support missions; the Harrier II was also used for presence projection and reconnaissance duties. The Harrier II served alongside theSea Harrier in Joint Force Harrier.

In December 2010, budgetary pressures led to the early retirement of all Harrier IIs from service, at which point it was the last of the Harrier derivatives remaining in British service. The decision to retire was controversial as there was no immediate fixed-wing replacement in its role or fixed-wing carrier-capable aircraft left in service; in the long term the Harrier II is to be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.