Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review Dec. 16 2016

412th Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base
The history of U.S. Air Force flight test is inextricably linked with the history of Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert.
In fact, almost every airframe that has been part of the U.S. Air Force inventory was tested at Edwards.
And while some may consider the ‘glory days’ of Air Force flight test — the days of the Bell X-1, or the XB-70 Valkyrie — to be over, noth- ing could be further from the truth. The fact remains that Edwards is the premier flight test center in the world and continues to test aircraft to this day. From the newest fighter, the F-35 Lightning II to the F-15 Eagle, and from the KC-46 Tanker to the B-52, Edwards continues to test aircraft and aircraft upgrades that will benefit the war fighters of today and tomorrow.
The 412th Test Wing is the host wing at Edwards and is responsible for all aspects of Air Force flight test- ing on base.
The wing oversees base day-to-day operations and provides support for more than 10,000 military, federal civilian and contract personnel as- signed to a 481-square mile instal- lation.
Additionally, the wing plans, conducts, analyzes, and reports on all flight and ground testing of air- craft, weapons systems, software and components as well as modeling and simulation for the U.S. Air Force. There are three core components for this mission: flying operations, main- tenance and engineering.
Innovation is word that describes what happens at Edwards on a dai- ly basis, and during a recent com- mander’s civilian call, Brig. Gen.
Carl Schaefer, 412th Test Wing com- mander, stressed that innovation.
“We are willing to risk failure in innovation,” he said, “but we will not risk failure in our mission.”
“It’s about staying one step ahead of the enemy. That’s what Edwards is all about — having that next inno- vative idea that helps us either with combat capability or the things that support combat capability for our country. If any place should be inno- vating, I think it should be Edwards.”
Some highlights from the past 12 months at Edwards include:
HH-60G Pave Hawk
From Jan. 5-22, an Air Force HH- 60G Pave Hawk was at Edwards test- ing the ballistic dispersion of a GAU- 21 .50 caliber machine gun.
The 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and the 412th Test Wing, partnered up to provide the 413th Flight Test Squadron, Detach- ment 1 from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., a location for their test team to accomplish baseline ballistics testing. That location is Edwards AFB’s Gun Harmonizing Range.
The testing was part of the Air Combat Command’s “HH-60 De- fensive Weapons System Upgrade” modification proposal.
The modification proposal required the new weapon to be an open bolt system, have a longer barrel life, a higher cyclic rate of fire, be lighter weight and have reduced recoil. The selected weapon must also be used currently by other Department of De- fense services.
F-35 Lightning II
Lockheed Martin photograph by Darin Russell
Raptors perched outside 411th Flight Test Squadron
Seven F-22A Raptors sit outside the 411th Flight Test Squadron Aug. 10. Four operational jets from three different bases are at Edwards for testing to help improve the long-term combat capability of the F-22 Raptor.
Air Force photograph by Christian Turner
Edwards personnel continued flight testing the Air Force’s newest fighter jet throughout the year, including de- ployments to Idaho, Washington State and the Netherlands.
On Jan. 12, an Edwards F35 launched an AIM-9X for the first time over the Pacific Sea Test Range. The AIM-9X is an advanced infrared missile and the newest of the Side- winder family of short-range air-to- air missiles carried on a wide range of fighter jets.
On Feb. 9, the 412th Logistics Readiness Squadron “deployed” 81 personnel from the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
The troops were involved in a month-long test mission. A day ear- lier, six F-35s from the 31st TES took off and landed at the Idaho base.
This is the first simulated deploy- ment test of the Joint Strike Fighter, specifically to execute three key ini- tial operational capability mission sets. The 31st TES executed these in a limited scope from a “deployed” location, which is Mountain Home.
On March 10, a Royal Netherlands Air Force KDC-10 tanker refueled an RNLAF F-35 over Edwards. The test was to certify the KDC-10s ability to refuel the Dutch F-35s, currently un- dergoing testing at Edwards.
On April 28, the Edwards flightline again saw an MV-22B Osprey (U.S. Marine Corps) from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. This was the first time since 2007 that Edwards had seen an Osprey in the skies on a regular basis.
The Osprey, assigned to Ma- rine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 22, was at Edwards to test the Osprey’s ability or refuel the Ma- rine Corps version of the F-35.
VMX-22 has a detachment at Ed- wards where Marines are testing and evaluating their version of the JSF, which is the short take-off and verti- cal landing variant.
“The test was to validate ground refueling from an MV-22 to an F- 35B, which is integral to the con- struct of the Marine Air Ground Task Force,” said Marine Corps Maj. Adam Geitner, pilot and VMX-22 F-35 Detachment Aircraft Mainte- nance officer.
Tailhook testing: When most people hear “tailhook” they think of U.S. Navy planes and aircraft carri- ers. However, almost all U.S. combat aircraft have a tailhook.
That also goes for the Air Force’s new F-35A Joint Strike Fighter.
The JSF Integrated Test Force at Edwards conducted a series of tests for the F-35As tailhook beginning
in May and continuing through the summer. F-35s have landed using a tailhook before, but not at the speeds and weights being tested now.
By nature, Navy aircraft need tailhooks to catch arresting wires on aircraft carriers. The Navy’s ver- sion of the JSF — the F-35C — has a significantly more robust tailhook that is designed differently for Navy purposes.
On Air Force planes, tailhooks are only used to help the jet stop when landing distance is insufficient or if the jet has a brake malfunction or directional control issue. They are designed as a one-time use device whereas Navy tailhooks like on the F-35C can deploy, retract and stow.
The initial testing included power- ing the F-35A at 180 knots over the ground; about 200 miles an hour.
As high speed cameras record, AF- 04 from the 461st FLTS speeds down the runway. Engineers plan the time to deploy the tailhook, and when the time comes, the test pilot deploys the hook to catch an arresting cable in place to safely stop the fighter. Data is collected and the video footage is reviewed.
AF-04 had several successful en- gagements with the tailhook and ar- resting cable, which will clear the
See 412th, Page 4
Multiple F-35s take to the skies to test communication data links
Flocking together: Three F-35As and an F-35C are pictured with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background during a recent four-ship test sortie conducted by the 461st Flight Test Squadron. Testing is done to ensure data is shared appropriately and accurately between aircraft.
AFTC, from 2
Then Brig. Gen. Arnie Bunch was the first AFTC commander, and, at the redesignation ceremony, said “For the first time this will align all AFMC test enterprise resources and activities under a single center commander. Historically, we have had three different commanders watching over those resources and each doing business in different ways. It aligns all resources, accountability and responsibility under one center commander,” at the redesignation ceremony.
More recently, the Air Force approved some realignments within the AFTC structure.
The change consolidates the current capabilities of the AEDC at Arnold AFB; the Hypersonic Combined Test Force, which was cur- rently part of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards; and all the current
December 16, 2016
capabilities of the 96th Test Group, headquartered at Holloman AFB, N.M.; and the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin AFB, Fla. The 96th TG and the MCL were previously part of the 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB.
Additional capabilities that were consolidated are located at the Federal Research Center at White Oak, Md. and operating locations at Kirtland AFB; Moffett Federal Airfield, Calif.; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; and the Army’s White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
“This Air Force approval of these organizational realignments is a major step toward achieving an objective set by the AFTC in 2015, said Maj. Gen. David A. Harris.
“These changes give us the right fit to help us deliver the best
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value to the war fighter, who we support every day,” Harris said. “We are continually looking for opportunities to leverage our assets and develop synergies that will help us be the best, most efficient test force we can be. These changes allow us a better balance of manage- ment, resources and advocacy across the test enterprise and will make
us a more agile tester of choice today and tomorrow,” Harris said. During a commander’s call early in the year, Harris gave his
thoughts on Edwards and the AFTC.
“It’s great to be at Edwards, this is the closest thing to holy ground
that there is in the United States military,” Harris said. “This is where so much history took place and this group, this ‘tribe’ I call us, within our Air Force is special.”
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