Air Force Test Investments
Abstract
This PE provides planning, improvements, and modernization for test capabilities at three Air Force test organizations: 46 Test Wing (to include 46 Test Group at Holloman AFB NM, and operating locations at Wright-Patterson AFB OH), Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), and Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC). The purpose is to help test organizations improve their test infrastructure and capabilities to keep pace with improvements in weapon system technologies. Test investment activities also fund the Test and Evaluation (T&E) Board of Directors and the Technology Insertion & Risk Reduction (TIRR) program, formerly the Test Technology Development (TTD) program. The TIRR program provides funds to study new technologies and test methodologies to determine their feasibility for future T&E investment within the scope of this program element. The intent is to reduce risk associated with new technologies and methodologies prior to investing in larger programs. The improvement and modernization (I&M) requirements are defined through the AF Test Investment Planning & Programming Process (TIPP). Also, all projects have been reviewed through the Tri-Service Reliance process (to communicate AF efforts to the other Services and avoid unwarranted duplication of effort) and are documented in Reliance Area Capability Summaries (RACS). Further, each project has its own planning, development, equipment acquisition, equipment installation, and checkout phases which often require significant differences in funding from one year to the next. As such, the changes in category funding from year to year do not necessarily indicate program growth, but rather a planned phasing of improvement and modernization efforts. The test capabilities at these locations enable testing through all phases of weapon system acquisition, from system concept exploration through component and full scale integrated weapon system testing to operational testing. These test organizations are a national asset operated and maintained by the Air Force for DoD test and evaluation, but are available to others requiring their unique capabilities. The 46TW, at Eglin AFB, FL, conducts and supports developmental test and evaluation (DT&E) of non-nuclear air armaments; Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems; target acquisition and weapon delivery systems; navigation systems; provides a climatic simulation capability; and determines target/test item spectral signatures. The 46TG at Holloman AFB, NM provides test facilities for high-speed sled track testing, that simulates selected portions of the flight environment. AEDC, at Arnold AFB, TN, provides pre-flight and reliability ground environmental test support for DoD aeropropulsion, flight systems, and space and missile programs. The center has 53 test facilities providing: aerodynamic testing of scale model aircraft, missiles, and space systems; testing of large and full-scale satellites, sensors, and space vehicles in a simulated space environment; altitude environmental testing for aircraft, missile, and spacecraft propulsion systems; and testing of large-scale models such as space boosters together with their propulsion systems. AFFTC, at Edwards AFB, CA, conducts and supports DT&E and Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) of aircraft and aircraft systems, aerospace research vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, parachute delivery/recovery/systems, and cargo handling systems. I&M efforts within this PE are identified in four mission area categories: Airframe/Propulsion/Avionics (APA); Armament/Munitions (A/M); Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR); and Space. These categories describe general types of effort that will be conducted in this PE. TIRR funding is included in all categories. APA provides planning, improvements, and modernization needed for test capabilities to conduct and support DT&E and OT&E of aircraft and aircraft systems, aerospace research vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, parachute delivery/recovery systems, cargo handling systems, and turbine engines. A/M provides planning, improvements and modernization to conduct DT&E of air-to-ground and air-to-air armaments and munitions, which include gun, chaff and flare systems as well as aerial decoy and target systems. The A/M category encompasses the full range of DT&E from digital modeling and simulation, to precision measurement testing, to hardware-in-the-loop and installed systems testing, to open-air range testing. Elements of A/M DT&E include environmental, warhead effectiveness, arena blast/fragmentation, guidance navigation and control, aerodynamics, propulsion, electromagnetic interference and compatibility, mass properties, seeker and signature measurement, survivability, lethality, integration, reliability, net-centric and terminal effects testing. A/M also involves the design and development of systems needed to support A/M DT&E including the design and development sleds, targets, range support systems and various instrumentation and measurement systems. C4ISR provides planning, improvements and modernization to conduct DT&E of systems that support C2 functions which range from air campaign planning at the theater level to wing level C2 operations, to planning individual missions, to putting weapons on target using concepts such as machine to machine targeting. C4ISR includes ground and flight performance testing of airborne C2 networks and tactical data links, air operation centers, mission planning systems, multi-level security systems, radio and communication systems, ISR systems, information assurance systems, and radar systems such as those used by JSTARS and air traffic control systems. C4ISR conducts DT&E on a full range of systems covering the sensor (detection) to the shooter (weapon), including functional and environmental testing of these systems. Space provides planning, improvements, and modernization needed for Space test capabilities to perform developmental and operational testing for space and launch acquisition and sustainment programs. Test capabilities include launch vehicle, satellite, missile, sensor, thermal protection system, signature, hardness, and interface testing. The capabilities are resident at Vandenberg, Kirtland, Arnold, Patrick, Schriever, Peterson, Holloman Air Force Bases and others. Infrastructure includes launch sites, mobile control units, thermal vacuum chambers, sled track, arc heated wind tunnels, ballistic test ranges, signature collection, and the requisite personnel. This Program Element is in Budget Activity 6, Management and Support, because it is a Research and Development (R&D) effort for Improvement and Modernization of T&E capabilities at Air Force Test Centers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2011
- Source ID
- 664597_0604759F_6_3600_PB_2011
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