The U.S. Air Force has inactivated the last A-10 units at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, ending the aircraft’s long-running presence at the installation and reducing its dedicated close air support footprint. The 355th Operations Group, 357th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Generation Squadron and 355th Training Squadron were stood down during a ceremony on 18 September.
Davis-Monthan had been a central A-10 hub for pilot qualification, requalification and training. Its closure to the type follows the final A-10 flight from the base in July and comes as the service continues shifting the remaining fleet to other locations, including Moody Air Force Base in Georgia and Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The Air Force is also retaining some A-10s elsewhere for now under its broader force-structure transition.
The inactivation follows other recent steps in the drawdown, including the A-10’s final Weapons School training sortie at Nellis Air Force Base in August. The service’s longer-term plan keeps the aircraft in the inventory through the end of the decade, but with a steadily shrinking operational and training role as it reallocates missions and resources to other platforms.