DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. — Davis-Monthan Air Force Base hosted this year’s Hawgsmoke competition June 1-3.
The biennial competition focused on tactics the aircraft can employ during combat operations.
This year’s event concentrated on two major areas: the tactical massing of fires in minimum time in an opposed environment, and conventional weapons delivery.
The 47th Fighter Squadron was the winner of Hawgsmoke 2014, allowing this year’s competition to be held at D-M for the third consecutive time.
Hawgsmoke is a continuation of Gunsmoke, the USAF’s air-to-ground gunnery and bombing competition involving various units held at Nellis AFB, Nev., until 1995.
The first Hawgsmoke competition started in 2002, where A-10 units across the globe competed in ground attacks and target destruction.
“This year we have 13 competing teams,” said Lt. Col. Brett Waring, 47th FS Hawgsmoke project leader. “Four of which are located here at Davis-Monthan, nine teams that are coming in from across the continental U.S. and overseas, including one from the 20th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, Korea.”
For the past three days, the skies of southern Arizona were buzzing with nearly 50 A-10Cs that participated in the competition.
“The best part about this is bringing the community together, and that’s not just the A-10 community, it’s this community,” Waring said. “Everybody loves airplanes, they love the city we live in, and we want to showcase what we do where we live, and who we do it for.”