The eye-catching trademark of the AV-8B Harrier II - its ability to takeoff and land vertically - makes it one of the world’s most recognizable aircraft. In 1969 McDonnell Douglas teamed up with British Aerospace and Rolls -Royce to develop an advanced-technology upgrade of the original Harrier “jump jet.” The AV-8B’s first flight took place in St. Louis on November 9, 1978.