Three iconic Harrier jump jets are up for private sale and could be heading back to the UK.
They include an FA-2 Sea Harrier made by Hawker-Siddley in 1979, three years before such jets saw action in the Falklands War.
The trio are the only flyable civilian versions in the world. The owner, former US Marines pilot Art Nalls, hopes wealthy British collectors will snap them up.
The two-seater FA-2 was a test aircraft before being retired in 2004 and sold by the MoD a year later. Art, 65, flies it at air shows across the US.
He expects the planes to fetch “many, many millions” and says: “The entire stable is for sale – spares, support equipment, manuals, training and expert advice.
“We ain’t done flying, by a long shot. But it’s time for someone else to pick up the torch and continue the Harrier story.”
Only a small number of military Harriers are still in use – operated by the US Marines and the Italian Navy. Harrier pilots downed 21 enemy aircraft in the 1982 Falklands War with Argentina.
In other armed forces news, there are fears for the future of the Parachute Regiment have emerged following moves by the Government to expand the size of the special forces and invest in cyber units.
Senior commanders are concerned the elite Paras could be sacrificed after the Prime Minister’s adviser Dominic Cummings questioned why the unit still existed – when they had not parachuted into battle for almost 70 years.
It is understood that the regiment, which is composed of two battalions plus the Special Forces Support Group, could be cut by one battalion – about 550 men.
The Paras have escaped the axe in recent defence reviews but now some senior military figures believe the time has come for the unit to “take its share of pain”.
It is understood that the MoD wants to increase the size of the special forces by up to 300 personnel and give more funding to cyber units, such as 13th Signal Regiment launched last month.
