![\"A-10](\"https:\/\/theaviationist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/A-10-Final-Range-Day-1-460x259.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base hosted at the Barry M. Goldwater Range near Gila Bend, Arizona, the last public Range Day with the A-10C Thunderbolt II<\/a> on Jun. 24, 2026 held its last Range Day. The announcement comes as the type inches towards its imminent retirement, despite Congressional approval to save the iconic aircraft.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the A-10C Thunderbolt II made one of its final passes over the Barry M. Goldwater Range near Gila Bend, Arizona, Airmen assigned to the 355th Wing, community members, and civic leaders gathered to witness the familiar roar that had echoed across Tucson’s skies for nearly five decades, marking one of the aircraft’s final range days,\u201d said the press release.<\/p>\n For the sake of clarity, it should be noted, that while the press release<\/a> mentioned \u201cone of the aircraft\u2019s final range days,\u201d the title and the caption explicitly mentioned it \u201cwas the final A-10 Range Day.\u201d<\/p>\n The Range Days are a traditional U.S. Air Force event held almost every other month at the Barry M. Goldwater Range by the 355th Wing. These events see the A-10C execute a live-fire demonstration of its combat mission, enthralling both public, Airmen, serving members and their families alike. <\/p>\n The A-10C, better known as Warthog, was earmarked for retirement by the end of 2026, however it will now remain in service at least until the 2030s<\/a>. The U.S. Congress is in fact resisting attempts to fully retire the attack aircraft without a replacement.<\/p>\n The jets have seen considerable action against Iran during Operation Epic Fury, carrying a new refueling<\/a> probe<\/a> on the nose and electronic warfare pods, and returning with kill markings<\/a> depicting bombs and Iranian naval vessels. The run up to the type\u2019s eventual sundown has also seen the Air Force deactivate other associated units and activities.<\/p>\n This includes the shuttering of the 40th Test Flight Test Squadron\u2019s Detachment 1<\/a> in December 2025, a geographically separate unit at Davis-Monthan AFB that executed A-10 developmental test operations<\/a>. On Apr. 3, 2026, the U.S. Air Force also ended the training of the A-10C when the 357th Fighter Squadron graduated the last batch of student pilots at Davis-Monthan AFB. <\/p>\n Describing the final Range Day as \u201cpowerful and precise,\u201d the service said this was \u201ca living, breathing demonstration of everything the A-10 mission represented; discipline, dedication and an unwavering commitment to those on the ground watching.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the spectators was also retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Glen \u201cWally\u201d Moorhead, who has witnessed the A-10 over 38 years of service. Moorhead delivered the first A-10 to Davis-Monthan nearly five decades ago, and was also one of the first pilots of the A-10C variant.<\/p>\n \u201cThe culture of attack is a special culture inside the United States Air Force,\u201d reflected Moorhead. \u201cThe people flying the airplanes, the people working on them, loading them, making them work, that culture of mission is just strong, it\u2019s extremely strong. And it\u2019s always been a pride of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Tucson natives meanwhile have come to view the Range Days as more than just aerobatic and live-fire demonstrations. \u201cThe growl of the gatling gun, and the sight of a warthog in the clouds above have become a message from the base to the city that supports it; a message that says, without words, that the people inside that fence are mission ready constantly,\u201d said the release.<\/p>\n Retired Air Force Col. Bill Pitts, who flew the A-10 for more than 14 years in his 26-year career, reflected on the community ties the event: \u201cThe attitude, the atmosphere around the A-10 is special. The pilots grow to love each other, and the attack community is a unique bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n The recent Range Days before the final one at Gila Bend were held from the beginning of the year on Mar. 27, 2026<\/a>, May 1<\/a>, May 28<\/a> and Jun. 11<\/a>. Hosted by the 357th Fighter Generation Squadron (357th FGS), Range Days are attended by Airmen, civic leaders, Civil Air Patrol cadets and Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps Cadets where they witness the \u201cinstallation\u2019s rescue and attack mission.\u201d<\/p>\n A-10 Warthog strafing run! I think it was about 107\u00b0F up there on the range tower.<\/p>\n I had to keep my phone and camera in the shade between passes so that it wouldn\u2019t overheat and not be able to record! pic.twitter.com\/TbJOgVJr1w<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andrew Kelly (@andrewkphotos) June 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Attending Airmen \u201crecognized as top performers had the opportunity to participate in an A-10 range day to see the mission their work supports.\u201d As for the A-10, one image caption said the range day \u201cdemonstrated the aircraft\u2019s speed and maneuverability while supporting pilot proficiency in dynamic training environments.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: Travel \u2013 theaviationist<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Airmen and the local community gathered as Davis-Monthan hosted the final public A-10 Range Day at the Barry M. Goldwater Range. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base hosted at the Barry M. Goldwater Range near Gila Bend, Arizona, the last public Range\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15191169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15191167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1.webp",2000,1125,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-620x349.jpg",620,349,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-940x529.jpg",940,529,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1.webp",2000,1125,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-998x665.jpg",998,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-670x446.jpg",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-1340x894.jpg",1340,894,true],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-510x510.jpg",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-160x160.jpg",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-24x24.jpg",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-48x48.jpg",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-96x96.jpg",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15191167-a-10-final-range-day-1-300x300.jpg",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"Travel<\/a>","tag_info":"Travel","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15191167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15191167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15191167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15191168,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15191167\/revisions\/15191168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15191169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15191167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15191167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15191167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theaviationist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/A-10-Final-Range-Day-2-706x397.jpg\")
<\/a>Imminent retirement<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Final Range Day<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theaviationist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/A-10-Final-Range-Day-3-706x397.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theaviationist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/A-10-Final-Range-Day-4-706x397.jpg\")
<\/a>Other recent Range Days<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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