AFMC Command News

  • Redesigned birdchaser sleds at Holloman test track saves time, money

    The birdchaser sleds, used to mitigate bird and animal strikes during HHSTT test missions, are one of the two main methods of mitigating animal strikes. Orchard cannons and small birdchaser sleds are fired in the range of 10 to 40 seconds before the mission sleds.

  • Arnold AFB pumping station receives crucial investment

    The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) Civil Engineering Branch at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., recently completed a project to restore reliability through redundant systems and smooth the way for future maintenance.

  • Virtual reality capability used during sensor validation in AEDC test cell

    When performing sensor validation tests in the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Sea Level Test Cell 1, or SL-1, this summer, AEDC engineers at Arnold Air Force Base had the opportunity to view in nearly real-time a three-dimensional representation of the test hardware and support systems using

  • Intern creates tool pilots can use during flight

    This summer, Jacob Moreno, a senior at the University of Texas at El Paso, spent his time as an intern with the 586th Flight Test Squadron, or FLTS.In the spirit of innovation and accelerating change, Moreno coded a program that automatically deciphers airspace data into a graphical format that

  • Arnold Diversity and Inclusion initiatives now in motion

    Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr., commander, Air Force Materiel Command, issued diversity and inclusion, or D&I, guidance last fall, and shortly followed it with the 2020 AFMC D&I Survey.The survey led each site or installation to establish a D&I Command Action Plan, or CAP, and all CAPs were due to AFMC

  • Masters earns high honor from aerospace organization

    A member of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex team is among a group of professionals from around the globe who will soon be formally honored for their contributions to the aerospace field.Dr. James Masters, a model and simulation engineer at Arnold Air Force Base, the headquarters of AEDC,

  • AFTC Commander learns more about the AEDC mission

    This month, Maj. Gen. Evan Dertien made his first visit to Arnold Air Force Base since taking on his latest role as the commander of the Air Force Test Center.During his two-day stop, Dertien had the opportunity to see many of the test facilities on base and speak with experts in each of the mission

  • AEDC sea level facility helps validate sensors on turbofan engine

    The same nine vendors who visited Arnold Air Force Base as part of the Propulsion Instrumentation Working Group, or PIWG, meetings last fall recently returned.This time, instead of simply viewing an engine installed in the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Sea Level Test Cell 1 and making plans

  • Space Test Branch helps change the world with decades of testing

    With the first ballistic missile being introduced in 1944 during World War II, the newest threat to the nations of the world was realized.At this time, the V-2 rockets, the world’s first long-range, guided, ballistic missiles, were not very accurate, but this new capability created new urgency for

  • Propulsion Test Branch at Arnold AFB helping power the Air Force since 1950s

    The Engine Test Facility (ETF), which is part of the AEDC Propulsion Test Branch at Arnold Air Force Base, was the first facility on base, with its construction completed in 1953.Equipment making up the ETF test cells, such as the motors and compressors, were confiscated from a Bavarian Motor Works

  • U.S. Space Force official gets first-hand look at Arnold AFB

    Gen. David D. Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, recently visited the Arnold Engineering Development Complex headquarters at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., to gauge how AEDC space test and evaluation capabilities can support the newest branch of the nation’s