The Air Force Special Operations Command is establishing a ‘power projection wing’ at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The nucleus of this organization will be the 492nd Special Operations Wing. The wing will integrate the AFSOC mission capabilities of strike, mobility, ISR, and air/ground integration.
To support this new wing in Arizona, several unit relocations will take place over the next five years involving AFSOC units and organizations. The planned relocations include the following:
- The 492nd SOW at Hurlburt Field, FL, is to relocate to Davis-Monthan AFB. The relocation includes the 492nd SOW’s transition from support wing into a power projection wing.
- The U-28 Draco fleets at Cannon AFB, NM, and Hurlburt Field is to be replaced by the OA-1K Armed Overwatch aircraft. As part of the 492nd SOW’s transition to a power projection wing, one OA-1K Armed Overwatch squadron is to relocate from Hurlburt Field to Davis-Monthan AFB.
- An MC-130J Commando II squadron is to relocate from Cannon AFB to Davis-Monthan AFB to join the 492nd SOW.
- An additional MC-130J squadron is to activate at Davis-Monthan AFB.
- The 21st Special Tactics Squadron is to relocate from Pope Army Airfield, NC, to Davis-Monthan AFB.
- The 22nd Special Tactics Squadron is to relocate from Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA, to Davis-Monthan AFB.
- The 492nd Theater Air Operations Squadron is to activate at Duke Field and transfer to Davis- Monthan AFB.
- The 47th Fighter Squadron (24 A-10s), the 354th Fighter Squadron (26 A-10s), and the 357th Fighter Squadron (28 A-10s) at Davis-Monthan AFB will inactivate and their respective A-10s are to be retired. The 47th FS and 357th FS are to continue A-10 formal training until inactivation.
- The 34th Weapons Squadron and the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron are to relocate from Nellis AFB, NV, to Davis-Monthan AFB, transferring five HH-60W Jolly Green IIs.
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The information in this article came from U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Considerations for Congress, Congressional Research Service, CRS RS21048, updated August 25, 2023, PDF, 12 pages. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RS/RS21048
Top Photo: An AC-130 Gunship shoots off flares. Photo by AFSOC, January 1, 2020.
