Prestwick Airport plays host to 4 Spanish Matador Jets
- Ayrshire Daily News
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Rare Spanish visitors draw an enthusiastic throng to Prestwick airport.
Doug Maclean – Aviation Editor
As I posted this morning, Prestwick hosted a very rare visit today by 4 Spanish Matador jets (EAV-8B Harrier II) of the Armada Española. The jets are based at the Rota Naval Station airport in Southern Spain.
When at sea the Armada Española Matadors operate from the 230 metre long Juan Carlos 1. She is an aircraft and helicopter carrier equipped with a ski jump which assists the aircraft to depart with maximum payload. Named after the former King of Spain, the Juan Carlos is designed for 25 Matadors plus aircraft 6 parking spots. Alternatively it can mix helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. For comparison the UK carrier Prince of Wales is 280 metres long and can carry up to 74 aircraft.
Early this morning the Matadors departed the northern Spanish airport of Santiago de Compostela and arrived at Prestwick just after 11 am. Unusually for military aircraft the basic planned flight arrival time had been showing on the Flight Radar 24 App for about 2 days so there were hundreds of aviation enthusiasts from all over the UK who came to see these increasingly rare aircraft.
The Matador is Spain’s version of the Harrier vertical take off and landing aircraft originally developed by Hawker Sidley / British Aerospace. The aircraft design was updated and upgraded in conjunction with the American MacDonnell Douglas company. Like many projects the UK abandoned the program because of money shortage and the American company went on to finish the development and subsequently sold hundreds of the aircraft to the US Marine Corps, The Spanish Navy and the Italian Navy.
The US Marines will officially retire the Harrier next Wednesday, 3rd June at a special AV-8B Sundown Ceremony at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Spanish Matadors left Prestwick this afternoon heading for Reykjavik, Iceland. Tomorrow they head for Greenland.
It is possible that the Spanish Navy aircraft are heading to Cherry Point to participate in the celebration of the retiral of this remarkable aircraft. The US and Spain have worked closely together with the same aircraft for decades.
Italy will retire its Harriers in 2028 as they are already receiving the F-35B Lightning as its replacement. Spain will be the last military to fly the Matador / Harrier as they plan to continue them in service until 2032. They were also planning to replace the Matador with F-35s but deteriorating relations with the US and budget considerations means that that plan has been shelved.
Pictures today by Eddie Wallace. Eddie and Alan MacIntosh, who runs the Prestwick Aviation Tours, (walking tour) are planning a 2027 calendar of Eddie’s airport pictures. All proceeds will go to Alzheimer Scotland. Whether we see the Matadors feature in the 2027 calendar will be revealed later in the year and hopefully just as you look out for a Christmas present for anyone interested in aviation.
