Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., will change its focus as the Air Force starts retiring older A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, the branch said on Wednesday.
A proposed plan calls for transfer of rescue and attack missions, including A-10 Thunderbolt close air support planes and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters, to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
The move would be in line with "the Air Force's vision of making the base [Davis-Monthan] the Center of Excellence for close air support and rescue missions," the Air Force statement said.
While the mission focus would be consolidated at the Arizona base, and training facilities would be brought in, the oldest A-10 planes will also be retired.
"The Air Force plans to modernize and maintain 218 of the current fleet of 281 combat-capable A-10s," Lt. Gen. David Nahom of the Air Force Plans and Programs office said in the press release.
Thirty-five of the 42 A-10s to be retired, according to the 2022 budget plans of the Air Force, are currently at Davis-Monthan, and their removal would create the flexibility needed to redirect the function of the base.
"While the active duty combat squadron at Davis-Monthan will close, the Air Force plans to bring the A-10 and HH-60 weapons school and operational test squadrons from Nellis Air Force Base to Davis-Monthan," Nahom said.
Plans call for the A-10 Weapons Instructor Course and Test and Evaluation operations to transition in 2022, with test and evaluation squadrons of the HH-60 to move in 2024. Each is currently at Nellis Air Force Base.
"Under this plan, Davis-Monthan will play a critical role in reshaping U.S. airpower as home to the Air Force's close air support and rescue Centers of Excellence," said Acting Secretary of the Air Force John P. Roth.
"This realignment will consolidate all A-10 and HH-60 test, training and weapon school activity at one location, allowing Airmen in these mission areas to train together for future threats," Roth said.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II, nicknamed the "Warthog," is designed for close air support of friendly ground troops and for attacking armored vehicles and tanks. It was introduced in 1977.
Announcement of the plans comes two days after it was learned that the Formal Training Unit of another plane with an uncertain future, the F-22 Raptor fighter plane, will be moved from Florida to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
