HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — Air Force F-35s from Utah and F-16s from New Mexico and South Korea will conduct a large training exercise this week in Utah, which will be followed by the 11-day Combat Hammer weapons evaluation.

The active-duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th FW at Hill, which fly F-35s, will be joined by Fighting Falcon squadrons from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, for the simulated combat exercise Tuesday and Wednesday, Hill officials announced Saturday.

Pilots will take off in waves to simulate a large-scale engagement with enemy aircraft. Maintainers will be tasked with providing ready aircraft for the exercise, with aircraft taking off every 45 minutes throughout the day.

Tech. Sgt. Joseph Munis, 301st Fighter Wing, Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, builds GBU-31 bombs April 26 at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Munis, other Airmen and aircraft were at Hill participating in Combat Hammer, an air-to-ground weapons evaluation exercise which collects and analyzes data on the performance of precision weapons and measures their suitability for use in combat. The Air Force supply chain is complex, playing a critical role in the management of Air Force depot-level repairable and consumable spares across the globe in support of a wide range of weapon systems. (U.S. Air Force/Paul Holcomb) PRINT | E-MAIL

The Combat Hammer weapons evaluation is scheduled May 6-17 at the Utah Test and Training Range and will include F-35As from Hill, F-16s from Kunsan and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, and A-10s from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

The goal of Combat Hammer is to evaluate the effectiveness, maintainability, suitability and accuracy of precision guided air-to-ground munitions. The exercise will test the performance of munitions crews, maintainers, pilots, and aircraft while deploying air-to-ground precision guided munitions, also known as a “storage thru impact” assessment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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