The United States Air Force conducted the final flight of the A-10C Thunderbolt II from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on July 29, 2026, bringing an end to nearly 50 years of A-10 flight operations at the facility. Service members and local civic leaders gathered on the flight line to observe the final sortie, which was greeted upon landing with a traditional water spray salute.
The 357th Fighter Squadron was the last active-duty A-10 unit based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and served as the primary formal training unit for the aircraft type. The squadron graduated its final class of A-10 pilots on April 3, 2026, marking the conclusion of the training pipeline that produced all A-10 pilots for the service. Aircraft retiring from the base are being transferred to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group located on the same airfield. Storage operations began in February 2024, followed by the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Squadron in September 2024 and the 355th Operations Support Squadron in April 2025.
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is undergoing a operational transition structured around rescue missions and the arrival of the 492nd Power Projection Wing, an Air Force Special Operations Command unit relocating from Hurlburt Field in Florida. The relocation will introduce OA-1K, MC-130J, and special tactics squadrons to the Southern Arizona facility.
Although training operations at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base have concluded, the broader A-10 fleet will remain active longer than previously anticipated. On April 20, 2026, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced that the service would extend A-10 operations through 2030 to maintain combat capability. Under current operational plans, the final remaining A-10 units will include the 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia and the 303rd Fighter Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
