AUGUST 3, 2026 – The familiar growl of the A-10C Thunderbolt II echoed across southern Arizona one final time July 29, as Airmen and local civic leaders gathered at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to witness the aircraft’s final flight, marking the end of nearly five decades of A-10 operations at the installation.
“It’s not a place. It’s not people. It’s a mindset,” said Chief Master Sgt. Dave Anderson Jr., 355th Operations Group senior enlisted leader. “Hopefully that attack mindset will continue to live on, and it will make every single Airman it touches, every single airframe it touches, every single organization it touches better.”
The flight served as both a celebration and a farewell, honoring an aircraft that became synonymous with the 355th Wing and its close air support mission. As the aircraft passed overhead, the sound that had long defined Tucson’s skies became a reminder of the generations of Airmen who flew, maintained and supported the A-10 throughout its legendary service at Davis-Monthan AFB…