T-1A Jayhawk Takes Final Flight from NAS Pensacola Published July 30, 2025 By Capt. Cory Siedler Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL -- PENSACOLA, Fla. – One of the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) training fleet platforms took its final flight from Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola July 28. The T-1A Jayhawk, a mainstay of the USAF training fleet, flew to Davis-Monthan (KDMA) Air Force Base (AFB), the location of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Tucson, Arizona. Here, the retired aircraft will continue service through the cannibalization of parts. The USAF 479th Flying Training Group Commander Col. Shane Muscato flew the aircraft on its final mission to KDMA, saying the importance of the aircraft to the thousands of Combat Systems Officers (CSO) trained during its nearly 15-year stay at the ‘Cradle of Naval Aviation’ could not be understated. “The T-1A has been central to our mission and our legacy here in Pensacola,” Muscato said. “It trained thousands of aviators and shaped the future of airpower. This final flight honors that legacy while pointing toward the future of simulation-based training.” The aircraft’s final flight comes on the heels of a June 6 Sunset Party hosted at the USAF 451st FTS hangar, featuring speeches, static displays and an aircraft signing. The T 1A has been instrumental in CSO training since 2011, producing 3,872 CSOs, flying 70,167 sorties, and logging 112,719 hours in service. Its versatility—twin-engine medium-range jet, enhanced with avionics to simulate air-to-air, air-to-ground, navigation, and electronic warfare training—cemented its reputation as a cornerstone of advanced CSO education. The aircraft’s retirement is part of the Air Force’s larger transition toward a fully modernized CSO training environment. While the T-6A Texan II will continue to support primary instruction, the Jayhawk is being replaced with an advanced simulator program designed to meet evolving mission demands.