A-10 ‘Warthog’ makes final departure from Nevada air base

Nearly 70 airmen saluted the final A-10 Thunderbolt II at Nellis Air Force Base as it took off against a cloudless Nevada sky for the last time.

The Air Force is slowly phasing out the nearly 50-year-old aircraft, affectionately known as the “Warthog,” in favor of multirole combat aircraft and advanced fighter platforms such as the F-35A Lightning II and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Moody Air Force Base in Georgia is now the only Air Force base with active-duty A-10s. The last A-10 units stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona were inactivated during a ceremony on Sept. 18. Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri operates a reserve A-10 squadron.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Master Sgt. Aaron Edmonds said in an Air Force press release. Edmonds is an aircraft section chief for the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, which provided A-10 maintenance at Nellis Air Force Base.

“I enjoyed my time with the A-10, but I’m excited because this departure marks the closing of one chapter and the start of another,” he said.

Airmen from the 757th will be reassigned to maintain F-35s and F-16s, the release said.

Maj. Kyle S. Adkinson, a weapons and tactics officer assigned to the Nevada Air National Guard’s 232nd Combat Training Squadron, taxis an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 22, 2026. (Annika Schermerhorn/U.S. Air Force)

Senior Airman Morgan Lissy, left, and Senior Airman Aiden Lopera, crew chiefs assigned to the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, conduct pre-flight checks on an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 22, 2026. (Annika Schermerhorn/U.S. Air Force)

An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft takes off from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 22, 2026. (Isabella Borrillo/U.S. Air Force)

The base received its first Warthog in 1977. More than 300 A-10 weapons officers were trained on the aircraft at the 66th Weapons Squadron.

“We are maintaining the culture of the A-10 by involving as many other fighter communities involved in the close air support mission,” said Lt. Col. Ridge Flick, the 66th Weapons Squadron commander, in the release. “We are also training F-15 Eagle, F-35 Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots to take on some roles we have had in combat search and rescue.”

In October 2025, the Air Force said it still had 162 Warthogs in its inventory but was planning to cut the number to 54.

Bipartisan legislation, called the BRRRRT Act, was introduced in the House in July that would direct the Air Force to maintain at least 126 A-10s through 2033. The bill is currently under consideration before the House Armed Forces Committee.