Moody Air Force Base to replace iconic A-10 Thunderbolt II jets with fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters
US Air Force Base Moody, Georgia, is going from thunder to lightning. The iconic A-10 attack aircraft will be replaced by fifth-generation F-35A fighters.
Here's What We Know
The transition to Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation fighters will begin in fiscal 2027 (FY). The United States Department of Air Force officially confirmed this information this week. The final selection of the base will be confirmed after an environmental impact analysis is conducted. This procedure is scheduled for the fall of 2025.
The 23rd Fighter Group with A-10 aircraft arrived at the base in 2007. Two years later, it was joined by the 476th Fighter Group. In April 2023, Moody Base said goodbye to the first A-10 Thunderbolt II. The aircraft went to Davis-Monthan Base, Arizona.
The U.S. Air Force plans to dispatch the remaining A-10s, which are stationed at the base in Georgia, before FY2028. They will be replaced by two squadrons of fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters. To accommodate them, it will be necessary to increase the personnel by 500 people.
F-35s are currently deployed at Eielson, Hill, Luke, Nellis, Lakenheath, Burlington and Truax Field. In the coming years, fifth generation aircraft will appear at Tyndall, Dannelly Field, Jacksonville, Kingsley Field and Barnes.
Source: Air & Space Forces Magazine
