EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — A detachment of the 40th Flight Test Squadron has been inactivated as the Air Force continues divesting the A-10, ending developmental testing on the aircraft, according to the service.
Niceville.com Community Partner
Detachment 1, based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, held its inactivation ceremony on December 5. The unit executed developmental test operations for the A-10 as part of the 40th Flight Test Squadron. The 40th FLTS is a squadron under the 96th Test Wing, located at Eglin Air Force Base.
Maj. Jordan Ziegler, the detachment’s commander, said the team built a strong record of dependable testing that directly supported Airmen in the field.
“The detachment will be remembered for high-caliber, safe, effective, and efficient flight test planning, execution, and reporting that benefited the entire Air Force community,” Ziegler said.
“Our testing has given deployed Airmen the confidence and capability to fight effectively, survive, and better protect the 18-year-old on the ground with a rifle taking fire, as well as perform combat search and rescue to bring American service members home to their families.”
Niceville.com Community Partner
The unit completed major test efforts, including small-diameter bomb evaluations, multi-target list assessments, and miniature air-launch decoy testing. It also certified targeting pods and validated A-10 refueling with KC-30 and KC-46 aircraft, along with dozens of operational flight plan upgrades.
Lt. Col. Taylor Wilson, commander of the 40th Flight Test Squadron, said the detachment became a close-knit team despite being far from Eglin.
“Due to the tireless efforts of the Detachment 1 team to accelerate the A-10 platform, weapon, and system safety, our warfighter is undoubtedly safer and more lethal,” Wilson said.
“The mission, people, and partners are what made the detachment more than a small tenant unit, but rather a family on the other side of the country.”
Niceville.com Community Partner
The Air Force said the inactivation realigns resources as part of the service’s broader modernization efforts.
More local Military News
“We will always look back on our time at the detachment as both a place where we could be dynamic: testing quickly, safely, and efficiently, and where we would work together closely as a small team so much that it felt like a family,” Ziegler said.
Original story by Tech. Sgt. Jacob Stephens
