Air Force weapons evaluation exercise begins

  • Published
  • By Richard W. Essary
  • 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  Residents around Hill may notice an increase in aircraft arrivals and departures May 5-15 as the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron conducts the U.S. Air Force air-to-ground exercise known as Combat Hammer.

During the next couple of weeks, three units will deploy to Hill and three units will travel directly to the Utah Test and Training Range to drop munitions in realistic combat scenarios. With support from the 388th Fighter Wing and 75th Air Base Wing, 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron Airmen will collect and analyze data on how these precision weapons perform and their suitability for use in combat.

"It is a team effort to pull off an evaluation of this scale, and Hill AFB is the perfect place to collect this important information for the Air Force," said Lt. Col. Scott Logan, 86th FWS commander.

"During this time, residents around Hill may notice an increase in aircraft taking off from the base with about 40 additional sorties being flown each day as part of this Air Force test and evaluation program," said Lt. Col. Ian Phillips, 86th FWS, Detachment 1 commander.

Units participating in the Air Force Weapons System Evaluation Program for air-to-surface munitions, known as Combat Hammer, include: F-16s from Shaw AFB, S.C.; F-15Es from Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.; and F-22s from Tyndall AFB, Fla. B-2s from Whiteman AFB, Mo.; B-52s from Barksdale AFB, La.; and MQ-9s from Creech AFB, Nev., will participate in Combat Hammer from other locations.