Warthog Fans Have Few Chances Left To See Legendary Aircraft Perform As Air Force Divests A-10C

The Luke Days 2024 airshow will take place March 23-24, marking one of the last times fans of the A-10 will have an opportunity to see the Warthog up close.

The Air Force has sought divestment of the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft for years primarily because it is an economical and effective aircraft and does not benefit defense contractors. As a result, 2024 will be the final season for the A-10C Demonstration Team due to the Air Force’s decades-long attack on the legendary aircraft known affectionately as the Warthog.

The A-10C Demonstration Team has performed for more than 40 years. The Warthog’s slow and low demonstrations have been performed by dozens of pilots and teams at hundreds of air shows across multiple countries.

Warthog fans can see final performances at the few scheduled shows left across the US from Mar. 23. To Oct. 5. The full season schedule can be found at https://www.dm.af.mil/A-10-Demonstration-Team/.

In February 2024, the Air Force announced that after nearly 50 years at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the 355th Wing had begun divesting its fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.

A-10C aircraft 82-648 was retired from service at Davis-Monthan and transited from the 354th Fighter Squadron to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group for final maintenance procedures and display preparation for the Davis-Monthan where hundreds of retired Aircraft are stored.

The U.S. Air Force is planning to divest the entire fleet of A-10 aircraft within the next 3-5 years. Pilots and maintainers at Davis-Monthan will move onto the extraordinarily expensive F-35 aircraft due to the divestment.

The divestment is expected to devastate Tucson’s already failing economy.

“I served as an A-10 electrician in the 1980’s,” said Pima County Board of Supervisors candidate John Backer. “Having been blessed with the first-hand experience of working on the airplane, I understand completely what a unique air frame the A-10 remains to this day. Through the years, countless Marines and Army soldiers have shared their love, respect, and gratitude for the A-10 – a majority feel the A-10 directly saved their lives.”

“Although Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is reportedly bringing in additional missions, the A-10 mission will be large boots to fill both in Close Air Support capabilities for our soldiers and financial impact for Pima County,” concluded Backer.

Originally designed for Close Air Support, or CAS, by Fairchild Republic, an Aircraft and Aerospace manufacturing company, the first A-10 model had the capability to carry bombs and rockets on 11 pylons and featured a 30mm GAU-8/A rotary cannon protruding from the nose of the aircraft.