The first upgraded TAV-8B Harrier, the two-seat trainer version of the AV-8B Harrier, has been completed and returned to VMAT-203 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC.
Under the TAV-8B Upgrade Program (TUP), most two-seat Harrier trainer’s will be rewired and will receive significant capability improvements to enable new Harrier pilots to achieve a higher level of training before moving on to their fleet squadron assignments.
Current fleet Harriers have both night attack and radar capabilities that the TAV-8Bs do not. The upgraded TAV-8Bs will emerge with night vision compatibility, new and more powerful 408 Pegasus engines, structural enhancements, and the latest mission software to provide fleet replacement pilots with a more representative training tool. Upon completion, the TAV-8B Upgrade will provide the Marine Corps with 17 night-capable TAV-8B aircraft for training similar to the AV-8B Harrier II.
The first aircraft was inducted into the depot at Cherry Point in July 2000 to receive only the wire replacement. For this modification, the aircraft is completely disassembled, and all existing wiring is removed. Then, the aircraft is essentially rebuilt and new wiring is installed. As noted by one Boeing engineer “this is more of an art than a science.”
Because of the complexity of this effort, and the need to develop a baseline modification data package, AV-8B Fleet Support Team, Boeing and British Aerospace engineers worked side by side with Cherry Point depot technicians to ensure all follow-on installations will be performed efficiently and with the highest quality result. The TUP team accomplished more than 345 changes to the technical data package, while working under challenging cost and schedule constraints.
Completion of the first aircraft is a key element in the program and gives the team an experience base it can build on to reduce the time and effort for future installations. On the second TUP aircraft, also a rewire only, all the data developed from the first installation will be verified. The TAV-8B Upgrade will enter full production when the third aircraft is inducted, at which time, implementation will begin of all the mission capability upgrades to bring the aircraft up to a more operational standard.

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