Air Force Reworks Plan for Special Ops Wing at Davis-Monthan

The Air Force’s plans to replace retiring A-10s at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., with a new special operations wing are changing. 

The service announced it will reinvent the 492nd Special Operations Wing, currently a training wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., as a new “Power Projection Wing” at Davis-Monthan, supporting all of Air Force Special Operations Command’s mission capabilities: strike, mobility, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and air/ground coordination. 

When it was unveiled in 2023, the Air Force detailed more than half a dozen units it envisioned moving to or activating at Davis-Monthan, including an OA-1K Armed Overwatch squadron, two MC-130J Commando II squadrons, and two special tactics squadrons with combat controllers. 

That plan has since been “refined,” an AFSOC spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. Instead of MC-130 and special tactics squadrons, the 492nd will pick up a second OA-1K squadron and a CV-22 Osprey squadron. 

Both OA-1K units are coming from Hurlburt, while the CV-22 unit and its associated maintenance organization will relocate from Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. 

In addition to the aviation units, the 492nd will have a Theater Air Operations Squadron, which the AFSOC spokesperson said are new and intended to handle planning, advising, and support for a specific theater with a comprehensive look at all of AFSOC’s capabilities. 

A new intelligence squadron under Air Combat Command will also activate at Davis-Monthan. 

The AFSOC spokesperson said analysis showed keeping the MC-130s based as they are would be more effective.  

Likewise, the decision to drop the special tactics units came from concern that construction costs for the unique facilities needed to house the units would be too high, compared to the existing infrastructure at their current bases. 

The headquarters for the 492nd and three associated squadrons have all been cleared to start moving to Davis-Monthan and will start doing so in the near future, the AFSOC spokesperson said. The additional OA-1K squadron and the CV-22 squadron must still go through the environmental impact assessment process before their moves can be finalized. 

However, much of the legwork for that environmental review is already complete from the first batch of units, and AFSOC hopes for the new wing to reach full operational capability by fiscal 2028. 

The moves come as Davis-Monthan goes through a lengthy goodbye to its longtime A-10s. The first aircraft started heading to the Boneyard in 2024, and the retirement process will continue for at least another year. The Air Force has accelerated its push to divest all of its A-10s, arguing the legendary close air support platform wouldn’t survive in a future fight with the likes of China. 

Units Moving to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base

Seven new tenant organizations will take up residence at Davis-Monthan. Decisions on four are final; those listed below in italics are awaiting final environmental reviews.

Headquarters, 492nd Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla. 
492nd Special Operations Theater Air Operations Squadron at Duke Field, Fla. 
319th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. 
Air Combat Command Intelligence Squadron, new activation  
34th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. 
20th Special Operations Squadron and 20th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.