HILL AIR FORCE BASE – Residents around Hill may notice an increase in aircraft arrivals and departures Aug. 11-22 as the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron conducts the U.S. Air Force air-to-ground exercise known as Combat Hammer and air-to-air exercise known as Combat Archer.

During the next couple of weeks, four 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.

“We have a variety of participants this month including two units from U.S. Air Forces in Europe. The Republic of Singapore Air Force is also participating from Mt Home AFB in Idaho. Local residents may see an increase in the type and number of aircraft here as we conduct a series of weapon evaluations and training missions,” said Lt. Col. Ian Phillips, 86th FWS, Detachment 1 commander.

Units participating in the Air Force Weapons System Evaluation Program for air-to-surface and air-to-air munitions, known as Combat Hammer and Combat Archer, include: F-16s from Hill AFB and Aviano Air Base, Italy; F-15Es from Royal Air Forces Lakenheath, U.K.; AC-130s from Cannon AFB, N.M.; and F-15Es from Mountain Home MQ-9s from Creech AFB, Nev., will participate from other locations.