The US Air Force (USAF) has revealed plans to relocate its close air support (CAS) and rescue missions from Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, at the expense of the 42 oldest examples of its Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II fleet.
The plans were announced by the Department of the Air Force on June 30, which added that the relocation efforts would begin in fiscal year 2022 (FY22) following the completion of an environmental analysis process. As per the new plans, Nellis’ resident A-10C and Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft units, weapons schools and test/maintenance squadrons would be transferred to the Arizona base, along with relevant support personnel. The move comes as part of the USAF’s vision of making Davis-Monthan a ‘Center of Excellence’ for the CAS and rescue mission sets.
![USAF A-10C Gunsmoke mission Nellis AFB 18-05-21 [USAF/William R Lewis]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/USAF%20A-10C%20Gunsmoke%20competition%20%5BUSAF%20-%20William%20R%20Lewis%5D%201_0.jpg)
