Combat Hammer assesses deployment readiness and effectiveness by testing the delivery of conventional airpower in a contested environment. It provides valuable training and feedback for both weapons load crews and aircrews, reinforcing mission-critical skills under real-world conditions.
“No part of the process is more important than the other,” said Capt. Adam Sandone, weapon systems officer for the 96th Bomb Squadron. “Without the maintainers, the jet is unsafe, and without the munitions, the jet isn’t properly armed. If any of that is missing, the whole mission collapses.”
The success of the exercise depended on the cooperation and coordination between pilots, weapons systems officers, and support teams. Munitions Airmen were given limited timeframes to prepare and load weapons, which were treated as operational assets throughout the evaluation.
“Everything we do here in munitions is to provide support for our combat capability, as well as keeping our team firing away at a hundred percent,” said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Stoltenburg, conventional maintenance production supervisor with the 2nd Munitions Squadron. “Our Airmen come in and they get the job done.”
Stoltenburg highlighted that the weapons systems tested included joint direct attack munitions and standoff missiles. “Every munition is treated as a real-world asset, because you can’t falter on proficiency,” he added.
Source: U.S. Air Force.
