US Air Force,
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah: In a “remote village” west of Salt Lake City, a 2,000-pound enhanced guided bomb unit-15 slips suddenly through an open window of a 30-foot building with immaculate precision. Zero fatalities result from this TV-guided infrared intrusion that occurred May 13.
The village — stacks of cargo containers positioned to reflect an average Afghani village — was erected to help Weapon System Evaluation Program specialists test and evaluate electronic warfare, armament and avionics, chemical defense, reconnaissance and aircrew training devices in a realistic combat scenario.
The weapons testing program, known as Combat Hammer, is part of the Air Force's ongoing effort to test weapons systems in training missions that also prepare air crews for upcoming deployments.
Testing flights during the week have included B-1 Lancers and B-2 Spirits, along with F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-22 Raptors.
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Lt. Col. Miles Demayo takes off in his F-16 Fighting Falcon from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., May 9 en route to Hill AFB, Utah. Sixteen jets and 172 Airmen from Shaw AFB went to Hill AFB for Combat Hammer, an exercise that assesses operational effectiveness and suitability of weapons and weapons systems in several different tactical scenarios. Colonel Demayo is the 55th Fighter Squadron commander. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Nathan Bevier)
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Hill Air Force Base hosts Combat Hammer, which is powered by the U.S. Air Force Air Warfare Center at Nellis AFB, Nev.; 53rd Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla.; the 53rd Weapons Evaluations Group at Tyndall AFB, Fla.; the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron at Eglin AFB; and the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron, Det. 1, at Hill AFB.
Sixty-five percent of all Combat Hammer operations are performed at the Utah Test and Training Range, an area operated by Hill AFB range personnel. The availability of space, the desert environment and the accessibility of using moving targets makes this testing ground the most ideal setting in the United States, according to 1st Lt. Scott Crowell, an F-15 pilot from the 391st Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
Combat Hammer also provides weapons specialists the opportunity to practice loading live munitions onto the aircraft, something they rarely are allowed to do at their home base, according to Staff Sgt. James Deczynski of the 55th Fighter Squadron and Air Maintenance Unit at Shaw AFB, S.C.
“Since day one, we have been training to go to war,” Sergeant Deczynski said. “Something like this helps prepare us.”
Airmen from the 55th FS and the 391st FS will provide close-air support in Southwest Asia in September. These exercises help ensure that those Airmen and weapons will be thoroughly evaluated and combat-ready.
