UncategorizedU.S. Air Force to close A-10 depot in latest step toward fleet retirement
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) will send the final A-10 Thunderbolt II through depot-level maintenance this month and deactivate the unit responsible for major overhauls of the close air support aircraft, a move first reported by Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, which performs structural repairs, upgrades and rebuilds on the A-10, will be deactivated. Personnel will be reassigned to sustainment work supporting the F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Fighting Falcon and C-130 Hercules fleets at the Ogden Air Logistics Complex.
The decision marks another structural step in the Air Force’s long-running effort to retire the A-10 fleet. While the aircraft remains operational and continues flying missions, including recent activity in the Middle East, the closure of its primary depot maintenance line reduces the capacity to conduct major repairs and life-extension work.
The Air Force has sought to divest the A-10 for more than a decade, arguing that the aircraft lacks survivability in high-end conflict and that its close air support role can be performed by other platforms such as the F-35. Congress has repeatedly blocked full retirement, allowing only limited drawdowns in recent budgets.
In its fiscal 2026 budget proposal, the service requested retirement of its remaining 162 A-10s two years earlier than previously planned. Budget documents show depot maintenance funding falling from $124.5 million in fiscal 2024 to $60.8 million in fiscal 2025, with no allocation for fiscal 2026.
Lawmakers intervened again in December, halting plans to retire 102 of those aircraft. However, without dedicated depot-level maintenance funding, those jets may face availability challenges over time. The A-10 typically enters depot maintenance every 1,500 to 3,000 flight hours under a risk-based schedule.
The aircraft, introduced in the 1970s and armed with the 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger cannon, has played a central role in conflicts from Operation Desert Storm to Iraq and Afghanistan. Flying units are now transitioning to other aircraft types, including the F-35, F-16 and F-15EX Eagle II, or converting to non-flying missions.
Closing the depot does not immediately ground the A-10, but it removes a key pillar of long-term sustainment for the remaining fleet.
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