This is a smart, if not risky move.
Marines are close to buying 70 of Britain’s freshly retired Gr7/9 Harrier jump jets to keep the USMC Harrier fleet flying into the 2020s. This comes a few months after it was revealed that the Corps is slated to purchase about 80 F-35C carrier variant Joint Strike Fighters. This is clearly a hedge against delays with the F-35 program. The Marines have been all in on the JSF for years, saying that it was the future of Marine Corps tacair and that there is no plan B.Smart because it gives them some breathing room for F-35B delays. Risky because it can give some short-term thinking money cruncher an excuse to say, "You don't need the F-35B - you have Harriers aplenty.
Overall though; smart. Phil agrees.
