ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- Arnold Engineering Development Complex has repeatedly been referred to as the U.S. Air Force’s “best kept secret,” but its role in supporting national defense since the site was dedicated on June 25, 1951, has been anything but hushed.
For the past 70 years, the test capabilities offered by AEDC have been key in providing foundational technology development of aeronautical and space systems. Even in the face of shifting priorities and evolving technologies, AEDC’s focus on elevating national defense is expected to continue for the next 70 years and beyond.
“AEDC will play an increasingly important role in national defense in the future,” said AEDC Commander Col. Jeffrey Geraghty. “As technology advances, AEDC is poised to test the newest systems that the United States needs to meet the National Defense Strategy. Over the past few years, the Air Force Test Center has assigned primary responsibility for testing emerging technologies to AEDC, and our team continues to rise to the challenge.”
AEDC Vice Director Jason Coker added AEDC’s test capabilities have provided the nation’s foundation to understanding aero and space systems phenomenology, allowing the U.S. to dominate commercial and defensive air and space systems capabilities for decades.
“Jet and rocket engine technologies that we take for granted every day owe their success to the AEDC’s test and development capabilities,” Coker said. “The same is true for Department of Defense aircraft and space systems, as virtually every aircraft and space system utilized today owes its birth and evolution to the test capabilities and engineering expertise that AEDC provides.”
Going forward, AEDC will continue in its important role of supporting the nation’s aeronautical and space systems development, Coker said. Several areas of priority spelled out in the most recent National Defense Strategy, such as space and hypersonic development and nuclear modernization, fall well within the purview of AEDC.
“As our nation continues to advance these technologies, AEDC will continue to provide capabilities that reduce risk and ensure success of advanced air and space systems by identifying and correcting system issues early in their development,” Coker said. “AEDC’s capability to identify and correct technology issues early can save the nation billions of dollars and significant fielding time as compared to discovering problems later in manufacturing or flight test.”
AEDC leadership is constantly looking to the future to ensure the preeminence of the nation’s defensive capabilities.
“We have taken on the responsibility of proving the superiority of some of the most advanced warfighting technology in the world, to include space warfighting capabilities, directed energy weapons, our nuclear deterrent and hypersonics,” Geraghty said. “To meet this responsibility, we continue to invest in a capable workforce and to improve and sustain the complex.”
Over the past five to seven years, total investments in the neighborhood of $1 billion have been made to extend the life of AEDC infrastructure and develop new facilities, such as “Project Phoenix,” which will provide a clean-air variable Mach test capability for hypersonic systems, and the “Dragon Fire” project, which will enable AEDC to meet the high demand for its arc heater capabilities.
“These investments will play a key role in supporting major Department of Defense priorities such as hypersonic system development,” Coker said. “Moreover, the Wing staff offices such as the Plans and Programs Division engage daily with local subject matter experts and national programs to identify capability, capacity and technology gaps to program office memorandums and partner with agencies such as the Office of the Secretary of Defense Test Resource Management Center as we strive to stay ahead of future requirements.
“Having said that, the age of our infrastructure and shrinking discretionary budgets will continue to present challenges for years to come, and we must stay vigilant to sustain and improve our capabilities to support DOD acquisition needs.”
However, Coker said what has been AEDC’s most valuable asset over its first 70 years will remain its most vital asset – its people.
“The bottom line is that our most advanced test capability is our highly-skilled workforce whose creativity, innovation and dedication to duty is the heart of what makes AEDC tick,” he said. “Advanced facilities mean nothing without the teams of experts that know how to utilize, collect and report test results in support of data-driven decisions.”
Coker said as technology continues to advance, ensuring a highly-skilled workforce is in place to support the multifaceted trades, engineering and scientific disciplines necessary to achieve AEDC efforts will be imperative.
Geraghty concurred, stating the knowledge and expertise of AEDC personnel will remain the “lynchpin” of American air and space power superiority.
“Since the establishment of AEDC 70 years ago, the expertise of our personnel has proven key to solving challenging technical problems and advancing key capabilities,” he said. “Our workforce is brilliant, resilient, resourceful and patriotic. We place service before self, work with integrity and dedicate ourselves to excellence.”