Home page of Arnold Air Force Base

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Arnold Engineering Development Complex Commander Col. Wayne Dirkes works Aug. 3, 2026, in his office at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. Dirkes assumed command of AEDC on June 27, 2026. Arnold AFB is the headquarters of AEDC. (U.S. Air Force photo by Diamond Brown)
Firefighters with Arnold Air Force Base Fire and Emergency Services participate in live structure fire training April 15, 2026, at Arnold AFB, Tenn., headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex. Fire and Emergency Services is a requirement of the Facility Support Services III contract set to be awarded in summer 2027. AEDC personnel hosted companies interested in bidding on the contact during an Industry Day event, July 21-22 at the Arnold AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo by Keith Thornburgh) (This image was altered by obscuring badges for security purposes)
Col. L.E. Cox, engineer with the Tullahoma District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, left, prepares to turn the Arnold Engineering Development Center Engine Test Facility Exhaust Compressor Building over to then-AEDC Commander Brig. Gen. Samuel Harris, center, during a Nov. 30, 1953, ceremony at the Center. Harris then indorsed the building and equipment over to Thomas Farrell, managing director of Arnold Research Organization, right. ARO was the corporation established to maintain and operate AEDC. In the background is one of the six compressors contained within the Exhaust Compressor Building which, up to that point, was the largest single unit completed at AEDC. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Arnold Engineering Development Complex Fellows gather for a photo on the steps of the Administration and Engineering Building at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., during AEDC Fellows Day, Aug. 5, 2026. AEDC is headquartered at Arnold AFB. The AEDC Fellows program, established in 1989 and managed by the Arnold Community Council, recognizes AEDC personnel who have made substantial and exceptionally distinguished contributions to the nation’s aerospace ground testing capability. This year, Ryan Bond, Ph.D.; Chester Furlong; Sam Dougherty; Randy Nicholson and Johannes van Aken, Ph.D., were induced as AEDC Fellows. The newly selected Fellows were recognized during the AEDC 75th anniversary open house event held June 27 at Arnold AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo by Keith Thornburgh)
Owen Baskin, a mechanical engineering student at Tennessee Technological University, is currently interning with Beyond New Horizons at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex. Baskin said the internship has allowed him to gain additional knowledge in his field of study while also learning about his family’s connection to the base that spans generations. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Keith Thornburgh)
David Pickering (U.S. Air Force photo)
A J-47 engine is prepared for open-air testing prior to being test fired on Aug. 27, 1953. This instrumentation test, which occurred near the then-under-construction Engine Test Facility at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., was conducted using a specially designed and constructed thrust stand. The first turbojet engine test conducted at Arnold was initiated on May 3, 1954, in the T-1 test cell of the ETF on a J-47 engine. (U.S. Air Force photo)
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Neil Grigsby, right, assumes command of the 746th Test Squadron from U.S. Air Force Col. Wayne Dirkes, then-704th Test Group commander and current Arnold Engineering Development Complex commander, during a change of command ceremony at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, June 10, 2026. The passing of the guidon symbolizes the formal transfer of authority, responsibility and accountability from one commander to another. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Jose Veras)
Lt. Col. Samuel Wright III, right, takes the guidon from then-704th Test Group commander and current Arnold Engineering Development Complex Commander Col. Wayne Dirkes to assume command of the 586th Flight Test Squadron during a June 9, 2026, Change of Command ceremony at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Wright brings to his latest assignment more than 2,800 military flight hours as a development test pilot and evaluator pilot in more than 30 aircraft types. (U.S. Air Force photo)
No Proposal for AI Data Center at Arnold AFB

AEDC shield The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) provides more than 90 developmental test and evaluation capabilities to the nation to meet the demands of the National Defense Strategy. Located in eight states, AEDC is one of three wing-level organizations within Air Force Test Center (AFTC), which is one of six centers within the Air Force Materiel Command. View/Read AEDC's Test Capability Guide.
Our Mission: Provide world-class test expertise and environments, enabling early solutions that accelerate war-winning capabilities.
Our Vision: Our nation’s aerospace advantage--relevant, resilient, collaborative and adaptive...fully integrated into a digitally-based acquisition process, providing world-class test solutions for our defense partners