HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Lt. Col. Jonathon Gipson assumed command of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex 746th Test Squadron July 22, 2024, at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
As commander, he is responsible for the developmental testing of U.S. air, land, sea and space guidance and navigation technologies.
Gipson earned his commission in 2006 from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana. During his first assignment, he served as a F-22 test conductor in support of the Increment 3.1 strike upgrade. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in December 2013 and has since served in a variety of test assignments supporting the development, testing and fielding of various aircraft weapon systems and technologies.
Prior to assuming command of 746 TS, Gipson served as the director of Curriculum Standards, Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California, and was responsible for the accreditation of the graduate-level Flight Test Course. He served as an instructor flight test engineer, responsible for teaching and evaluating 48 Department of Defense and coalition students each year. Additionally, he served as an academic instructor of Statistics for the Flight Test Course and Space Test Course.
Deeply immersed in test since his graduation from Test Pilot School, he has conducted a variety of test programs with the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, T-38 Talon, C-12 Huron, AT-802 Air Tractor, A-29 Super Tucano and the F-35 Lightning II. Prior to his assignment at the Test Pilot School, he was a Ph.D. student specializing in resilient positioning, navigation and timing with the Autonomy and Navigation Technology Center at the Air Force Institute of Technology.