A-10 completes final Weapons School training sortie at Nellis

The A-10 Thunderbolt II flew its last training sortie with the US Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, ending the service's dedicated A-10 weapons training program. The 66th Weapons Squadron marked the milestone on Aug. 18, 2026. Photographs of the jet after the flight were released by the base a month later, on Sept. 18.

Aircraft 82-0665, the last A-10 ever built, delivered in 1983, took part in the final flight. The squadron commander, Lt. Col. Ridge Flick, flew it. The sortie ended the Weapons School's A-10 program, according to the official caption with the images. The squadron had run advanced weapons and tactics instruction on the Thunderbolt II, preparing specialised personnel for combat operations.

The milestone follows the A-10's last flight at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on July 29. The end of operations at the Weapons School had been expected by the end of the summer, a few months after the latest class of A-10 weapons instructors graduated.