Photos of the Week: One Final Act

After a 40-plus year run of nearly 1,800 air shows in 10 countries, the U.S. Air Force’s A-10 Demonstration Team conducted its final show in Stuart, Florida, on Nov. 10.

But the team had one last act up its sleeve… in Pittsburgh, of course.

A week after the Florida show, the A-10 demo visited PIT to conduct a pre-game flyover at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 17, where the Pittsburgh Steelers faced division foe Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers won the game 18-16.

The A-10, nicknamed the “Warthog,” rarely has visited PIT. Since entering service with the Air Force in 1977, the A-10 has been the premier attack and close air support aircraft for the U.S. military.

Throughout its nearly five-decade service life, the A-10 has served in Operations Urgent Fury, Desert Storm, Deliberate Force and Allied Force. It has also served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and more recently, Syria.

The A-10 demo team’s final season comes as the U.S. winds down its A-10 fleet; it is expected to be fully retired by 2029. The A-10 will be replaced with newer-generation multi-role fighters such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-35 Lightning II.

Since 2023, the A-10 demo team has been led by Major Lindsay Johnson, a veteran instructor pilot with over 1,250 flight hours, including 431 combat flight hours.

Johnson lived in nearby Jeanette for several years in the 1990s as her family moved around the country while her father served in the Army. In June 2023, she flew the A-10 demonstration at the Westmoreland County Air Show in front of friends and family