A-10 Thunderbolt II Takes Final Flight at Davis-Monthan AFB
The U.S. Air Force’s 355th Wing conducted the final flight with the A-10C Thunderbolt II at Davis-Monthan AFB, as the service ends A-10 operations at the installation.
The A-10C Thunderbolt IIs assigned to the U.S. Air Force’s 355th Wing flew for the last time at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The flight celebrated the end of the A-10 operations at the installation after 50 years, as the aircraft first arrived there in 1976.
The flight was a two-ship formation piloted by the 355th Operations Group Commander, Lt. Col. Rodney Dwyer, and the 357th Fighter Squadron Commander, Lt. Col. Ryan Rutter. The service says the Warthogs flew “over Tucson and the installation for the last time, honoring a legacy of precision and courage through the Close Air Support mission.”
The 357th FS recently graduated the last class of A-10 pilots in April 2026, after they completed their mission qualification training in mid-March. In June, the base also hosted at the Barry M. Goldwater Range near Gila Bend, Arizona, the last public Range Day with the A-10C.
Last year, the base also saw the deactivation of the 924th Fighter Group, which oversaw the 47th Fighter Squadron, the Air Force Reserve Command’s (AFRC) Formal Training Unit for the A-10C. The unit is now slated to transition to the F-35A Lightning II.
The A-10’s retirement
The end of the A-10’s flight operations represents yet another step towards the retirement of the aircraft. The service already closed the A-10’s depot maintenance at Hill AFB, Utah, and will soon end the A-10 operations at Nellis AFB’s Weapons School.
These steps appear to be continuing even if the service announced that it would retain two squadrons through 2030. These will be one active-duty squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, and one Air Force Reserve squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
In an attempt to further delay the retirement, Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.) introduced in the U.S. Congress the ‘BRRRRT Act’, or ‘Bolstering Recognition, Resurgence, Retention, and Remembrance of the Thunderbolt’, (H.R. 9780) on July 20, 2026. The bipartisan bill would require the U.S. Air Force to maintain a viable A-10 fleet through Fiscal Year 2033, as well as halting the dismantling of the infrastructure needed to sustain the aircraft.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Armed Services but, at the time of writing, its text was not yet public. The bill would require the Air Force to maintain at least 126 A-10 aircraft and restore depot maintenance, pilot training, sustainment activities and flight testing.
In order to proceed with the retirement, the Secretary of War would have to certify that a replacement aircraft has fully assumed the A-10’s mission before any further divestment could proceed. That certification would also need to be approved in writing by the Secretary of the Army, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.