Three A-10 squadrons have been extended in service to 2030, even as the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base recently completed its final weapons instructor course for the A-10 Warthog.
Weapons School completes final A-10 weapons instructor course
The U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, has finished what the school calls its final weapons instructor course for the A-10 Warthog. The Weapons School has shuttered the elite training course as part of the service’s broader divestment plans for the A-10, ending a formal pipeline for weapons instructors attached to that platform at the school.
Extension of three squadrons to 2030 and recent combat operations
The closure comes despite two other facts the service has announced: three A-10 squadrons have received an extension in service to 2030, and A-10s have been involved in recent combat operations in the Middle East. Those facts sit alongside the Weapons School’s decision to end the course, producing an unusual juxtaposition of continued operational life for specific squadrons and the end of a specialized training track.
66th Weapons Squadron, an A-10C, and a walk-around with “Trippin”
TWZ’s Jamie Hunter visited the 66th Weapons Squadron (WPS) at Nellis and received a detailed cockpit and walk-around tour of an A-10C with an experienced instructor pilot identified by the callsign “Trippin,” who is attached to the unit. The visit focused on the aircraft and the instructor perspective; TWZ plans a full episode that will go in-depth with the A-10 Weapons School and will kick off the outlet’s first season of Special Access on YouTube.
How the closure maps to USAF divestment plans
The elimination of the Weapons School’s A-10 instructor course was executed “in line with USAF divestment plans for the type,” according to reporting on the visit. Those divestment plans had previously set the end point for the A-10 at the end of 2026. The Weapons School’s action, therefore, reflects a formal alignment of institutional training with the service’s planned force structure decisions.
What this means for the 66th Weapons Squadron, the three A-10 squadrons, and TWZ viewers
- 66th Weapons Squadron: The unit completed the final weapons instructor course and hosted the visit and tour; the squadron will now exist without the Weapons School’s A-10 instructor course as part of the institutional training landscape.
- The three A-10 squadrons extended to 2030: These squadrons retain an operational lifeline through 2030 even as the Weapons School has ceased its A-10 instructor course, creating a situation where active units continue to fly the type while the school’s elite course has been shuttered.
- TWZ viewers and the public: Jamie Hunter’s cockpit and walk-around material — and the forthcoming Special Access episode on YouTube — provide a documented close look at the A-10C and the 66th WPS at a moment when formal instructor training for the type has ended at the Weapons School.
Closing observation
The U.S. Air Force Weapons School has formally ended its A-10 weapons instructor course even as three squadrons of the aircraft were extended to 2030 and the type has recently been employed in combat operations in the Middle East. The decision reconciles training posture with previously announced divestment plans that had set an end date around 2026, but it also leaves open a concrete operational question: with the Weapons School’s elite instructor pipeline closed, how will instructor-level expertise for the A-10 be sustained for units that will remain active through 2030? For a closer look at one aircraft and an instructor who taught in that final course, TWZ’s forthcoming Special Access episode will provide an extended cockpit and walk-around tour.
