AFOTEC Det. 5 CTO division receives Air Force excellence award

  • Published
  • By Kate Blais
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Searching for an efficient way to do their jobs, a team from Edwards achieved success in their mission despite limited personnel, funding and test resources.

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Detachment 5 RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 20 and 30, Advanced Signals Intelligence Payload and Battlefield Airborne Communications Node team, took home the 2010 Air Force Modeling and Simulation Test and Evaluation Award, which recognizes the outstanding contributions of Air Force modeling and simulation personnel in support of the warfighter.

Optimizing limited resources, the team combined three RQ-4 Global Hawk programs into a single operational test program and supported the BACN program with data and personnel.

"The team demonstrated that by working together and creative thinking, they were able to optimize current Air Force toolsets and networks and apply them to operational test," said Lt. Col. Lynnette Gawell, AFOTEC Det 5 Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Test Operations Division chief. "This saved the government time and money."

Saving time and money involved reducing the need for flight hours by 95 percent through the use of model and simulation tools, including live, virtual and constructive simulation on the Air Force Secure Development Research Engineering Network.

"The team, through the use of modeling and simulation, validated warfighter applications, avoided $6.7 million in additional required flights and range costs," said Colonel Gawell.

In order to sustain efficient testing, the RQ-4 team will apply operational toolsets into upcoming operational tests.

"[RQ-4] Team members worked with the [Department of Defense's] Test Resource Management Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the PATFrame [Predictive and Adaptive Test Framework] project and identified critical components required for complex system testing," said Colonel Gawell. "The LVC network will also be applied to other operational tests that require multiple aircraft assets."

The team will be presented their award in Florida this summer, Colonel Gawell said.