ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- “The scientists who work here will explore what lies on the other side of the speed of sound.”
Before the first wind tunnel ran, the first test engine roared or the first ballistic projectile launched, then-U.S. President Harry Truman shared this prediction for what would come to be known as Arnold Engineering Development Complex.
For the past 75 years, the men and women of AEDC have continued to make the prognostication Truman offered on June 25, 1951, a reality.
Since it was dedicated by Truman in honor of Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold on what would have been the general’s 65th birthday, the complex has contributed significantly to the development of many high-priority military aircraft and weapons systems and has played a key role in numerous national aerospace advancements.
To commemorate the 75th anniversary of AEDC, a public Open House event will be held on Saturday, June 27 at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of AEDC. That day’s festivities will also feature a Change of Command ceremony and rededication of AEDC.
Throughout the coming months leading up to this event, a series of articles and social media postings will be published to the AEDC website and Facebook page to highlight notable historical happenings and achievements from the first 75 years of the Complex.
Over the decades since Truman traveled to a remote area of southern middle Tennessee to deliver the dedication before the throngs gathered at Arnold AFB to witness his speech, AEDC has remained foundational to the nation’s aerospace program, having a hand in numerous aviation, astronautic and defense milestones.
AEDC has played a vital part in the development of numerous high-performance aircraft flown by the U.S. Armed Forces. In part, these include the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II, B-2 Spirit, F-22A Raptor, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F/A-18 Hornet, F-117 Nighthawk, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15 Eagle, F-111 Aardvark, B-1 Lancer and T-38 Talon, as well as the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle.
The complex also aided in the nation’s manned space flight program. AEDC tested various space systems, including components of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects under both simulated flight and reentry conditions. It was during the Apollo missions that man first landed on the moon.
AEDC also conducted tests on elements of the space shuttle to help determine appropriate construction materials and to establish baseline flight models for ascent and reentry.
Among other programs, AEDC has more recently conducted testing in support of the International Space Station, Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-M weather satellite, X-37 Advanced Technology Vehicle and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which was part of the Artemis space program.
In the 1990s, AEDC entered the commercial testing arena, with complex testing efforts aiding in the development and certification of commercial aircraft and engines, including the Boeing 767, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 growth engines, Boeing 747, Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 turbofan engine and the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine.
Efforts at AEDC were also instrumental in the development of the Atlas, Minuteman and Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Among numerous other aerospace systems, the complex has also provided testing for the Navstar Global Positioning System satellites, the Inertial Upper Stage rocket, the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, and Polaris, Poseidon and Trident submarine-launched missiles.
The AEDC mission is to: “Provide world-class test expertise and environments, enabling early solutions that accelerate war-winning capabilities.”
This falls in line with the vision Gen. Arnold had for the complex. Prior to the end of World War II, Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, was unsettled by the Germans’ rapid development of advanced aircraft, rockets and missiles. Realizing that Germany’s advanced flight research facilities could have changed the outcome of the war had such sophisticated weapons systems been introduced earlier, Arnold spearheaded efforts to ensure the U.S. would maintain air superiority.
“As Chief of the Army Air Forces, I had yet another job,” Arnold wrote in his 1949 memoir Global Mission. “That was to project myself into the future; to get the best brains available…and determine what steps the United States should take to have the best Air Force in the world 20 years hence.”
Twenty-five years ago, Gen. Arnold’s grandson Robert Arnold spoke at the rededication ceremony for AEDC on its 50th anniversary. He said the importance of AEDC lies in its people and the work they perform every day to fulfill his grandfather’s vision.
“What makes this place special to my family isn’t that Hap Arnold’s name is on the front gate,” Robert said during the 2001 rededication. “Around the world at Air Force installations, there are streets, playing fields, clubs, pizza joints, schools, buildings, auditoriums, all named for him, all honoring his memory as a pioneer aviator, a dynamic wartime leader and the Air Force’s first, last and only five-star general.
“What is special about AEDC is what you do here. You are on the cutting edge. You help create the future of air and space flight. And, for all that and the rest of the things you do, you are part of the never-ending front wave of Hap Arnold’s vision and dreams, moving through time always toward new horizons.”