By mid-1968, No. 79 Squadron no longer had a clear role at Ubon. The USAF had sufficient fighters based in Thailand to defend the country and was reluctant to use the Australian fighters—which were now regarded as obsolete—to intercept potentially hostile aircraft, as the squadron's rules of engagement did not allow it to pursue contacts that left Thai airspace. As a result, the Australian military's chiefs of staff determined that the RAAF presence in Thailand had outlived its political and military usefulness and decided to withdraw the squadron without replacement. No. 79 Squadron was taken off alert status on 26 July and disbanded at the end of the month. On 31 March 2011 it received a battle honour for its deployment to Ubon between May 1962 and August 1968.