The much-loved Sea Harrier may be in the twilight of its Royal Navy career, but that doesn’t mean the jet fighter is going out quietly, as a busy autumn has proved.

The jump jets of 801 Naval Air Squadron have twice embarked upon Fleet flagship HMS Invincible towards the close of 2004 for exercises in the North and Mediterranean Seas.

With the disbanding of 800 NAS earlier this year, 801 – motto On les aura (‘We’ll get them’) – is Britain’s last operational Sea Harrier squadron.

The Yeovilton-based unit was joined aboard ‘Vince’ initially by the RAF’s variant of the Harrier, the GR7, from IV(AC) Squadron.

The two-week exercise, named Hold Fast, was the first experience of operations at sea by the RAF formation – which meant a steep learning curve as its personnel got used to deck launches and landings and life in general aboard a 20,000-ton warship.

Operating in the North Sea allowed the carrier-based Harriers to operate with their counterparts based on land at RAF Wittering and RAF Cottesmore in airspace segregated from commercial traffic.

The East Coast ranges also provided 801 with a good opportunity to practise electronic warfare, air defence and air combat manoeuvres (more familiarly known as dogfights) and dropping 1,000lb bombs at Cape Wrath in Scotland.

All the RAF crew left Hold Fast with the necessary qualifications for carrier operations, while one of 801’s fliers earned his Initial Night Qualification (INQ) – the first of two significant milestones in a Sea Harrier pilot’s career.

INQ recognises a pilot’s ability to land and take off from a carrier at night; the next step, a full qualification, takes a flier to the next level with air defence and air-to-air refueling techniques mastered.

After two weeks in the North Sea, 801 departed Invincible briefly before rejoining her for another fortnight in the Mediterranean for NATO exercise Destined Glory, a mock invasion of Sardinia.

The work-up carried out under Hold Fast served as an excellent warm-up for the Med as the Harriers fought alongside and against some of the less-familiar aircraft in the NATO arsenal.

Operating between Sardinia and mainland Italy, aircraft serviceability and weather conditions were excellent, allowing all pilots to gain some valuable experience in complex missions and scenarios.

Destined Glory proved to be the swansong of the Harrier career of 801 NAS’s Commanding Officer Cdr Paul Stone, whose 15 years of flight have also seen him pilot the prototype of the jump jet’s replacement, the Joint Strike Fighter.

Beyond a formal handover of the squadron to Cdr Tony Rae, Cdr Stone was lashed to the flight deck and given a wet send-off by all 801 personnel.