An F-16 pilot from the 34th 
Fighter Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah, was the first to participate in a combined Combat Archer-Combat Hammer weapon system evaluation program mission earlier this month, according to a Jan. 23 release from the 53rd Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla., which oversees WSEP at Eglin. During Combat Archer, fighter aircraft engage in live-fire with air-to-air missiles, while Combat Hammer offers the opportunity for live-fire of bombs in an air-to-ground scenario. The WSEP evaluators of the 53rd Wing’s 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron and 83rd FWS, located at Tyndall AFB, Fla., joined forces to conduct the continuous mission training. The Hill F-16 received its weapons load at Tyndall and launched from there and flew first over the Gulf of Mexico for the Archer portion. It then refueled from a KC-135 flown out of MacDill AFB, Fla., and flew to the Eglin range for the Hammer portion. Last year, the 13th Fighter Squadron, deployed from Misawa AB, Japan, became the first unit to tackle back-to-back Archer and Hammer training. Misawa officials considered the melding of the two programs a great time and money saver. (53rd Wing photo release)
The Islamic State’s Khorasan branch, responsible for the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the evacuation from Kabul, could develop the capacity to strike outside Afghanistan within “six to 12 months,” Undersecretary of Defense for policy Colin Kahl warned. Testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee on…