Combat Aircraft's consultant Editor Jamie Hunter reports on the test units at Eglin AFB in Florida.
Located near some of the most beautiful beaches and most popular tourist resorts in the United States, Eglin AFB is a huge facility on the sunkissed Gulf Coast of Florida's Panhandle. The base here traces its roots back to 1931 when the Army Air Corps Tactical School saw the potential of the sparsely populated forested areas and the vast expanse of the adjacent Gulf of Mexico for use as a gunnery and bombing range.
A 40th FLTS F-16B, callsign 'Python 01', skirts the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay near Eglin.
Home of USAF testing on the East coast, 40th FLTS F-16B flies over the Eglin test flightlines.
Today, Eglin is one of the largest air bases in the world, covering some 724 square miles of reservation and 123,000 square miles of ranges out to sea in the Gulf Test Range. Eglin is home to a diversity of development flight-testing met by the resident Air Armament Center, part of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) and responsible for the development, acquisition, testing, deployment and sustainment of all air-delivered weapons. The 46th Test Wing is part of the AAC and is the command authority for the 40th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), which flies a diverse selection of aircraft including F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16A/B/C/D Fighting Falcons and the newly-upgraded A-10C Thunderbolt to meet the wing mission objectives. The men and women of the 40th are test experts, with most being Edwards' Test Pilot School graduates.
Air Armament Center in action - an F-16CG of the 40th FLTS 'pickles off' a JDAM test round over the Eglin test ranges. USAF/Air Armament Center
All new equipment, no matter how small, is tested to exhaustion in the 'Development Test' phase by either the 40th here at Eglin, or across at Edwards. The 40th is tasked primarily to conduct weapons testing and is responsible for the development test and evaluation of all conventional weapons entering the USAF inventory. The squadron's F-15 flight is responsible for testing new flight software OFPs (operational flight programs) for all USAF F-15A-D, F-15Es and A-10 Thunderbolts and the majority of testing involves load compatibility flight profile testing and safe weapons separation testing. The load compatability portion looks at whether or not the aircraft will have any structural problems while carrying the new test item and our flutter testing investigates any aeroelastic issues of the aircraft that are generated by the test item. With all F-15 Eagle testing having ceased at Edwards, the two Eglin test units (40th FLTS and the 85th TES) as well as the 422nd TES at Nellis now handle all flight test work for the type.
The F-16 is by far the most numerous aircraft type operated by the 40th FLTS. This F-16B is seen on a mission from Eglin in over the Gulf test range complex to the south of the base.
On finals to Eglin.
As well as conducting the majority of F-15E development test, the squadron fulfils a similar role for the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The 40th FLTS is at the centre of a programme to enhance the 'Hog's' capabilities in its primary Close Air Support (CAS) role, adding a precision strike capability under the upgraded A-10C programme.
53rd Wing - Sharpening the sword
Whether it's F-22A Raptors developing tactics to command the skies, F-15Es dropping new bombs, F-16s developing latest radar killing techniques, B-2s attacking silently in the night or QF-4 Phantoms flying unmanned missions as targets - there is one wing in the USAF that does it all. Alongside the 40th FLTS, the realistic operational testing (OT) is the realm of the 53rd Wing, also headquartered at Eglin. This wing serves as a focal point for tactical aircraft evaluation ahead of service clearance and flies an incredibly diverse mission with a wide variety of aircraft. The wing’s operational test flying activities are split between a number of bases in the US, with small detachments at Dyess for the B-1B, at Barksdale for the B-52H and at Whiteman for the B-2A. However, it is in two particular regions that the wing has truly stamped its mark - the golden sandy beaches of the Florida Panhandle on the Gulf Coast and the rugged desert of the gambler's home of Las Vegas in Nevada. The Florida home of the 53rd Wing is at Eglin AFB, near Fort Walton Beach, a dream posting in a wonderful location. Down the coast at Panama City, Tyndall AFB is another outpost for the wing. While across in Nevada, the gambling takes a back seat for the testers at Nellis AFB.
Two of the most prominent squadrons within the 53rd Wing are the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) 'Skulls' Eglin and the 422nd TES 'Green Bats' at Nellis. The USAF is working hard to streamline its development test and operational test activities as it seeks to react swiftly to operational requirements and get new products to the front line as quickly and efficiently as possible. New systems have traditionally first been sent for DT with the Combined Test Forces (CTFs) Edwards AFB, CA, or with the Air Armament Center here at Eglin, however, now the operational test community of the 53rd Wing is getting involved with programmes much earlier now.
A trio of 85th TES (OT) Block 50 F-16s seen on a test mission from Eglin. The nearest aircraft, an F-16D, carries a pair of AIM-9X, with all pilots wearing the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS).
85th TES F-16C 'Racer 1' heads back to Eglin from the Gulf range following a test mission.
The 'Skulls' are heavily involved with the F-16 CCIP (Common Configuration Implementation Program), essentially bringing the Block 40 and Block 50 F-16C/Ds to a common standard. The 85th shares its F-16 test work with its sister squadron across at Nellis, the 422nd TES 'Green Bats'. The workloads between the two squadrons are carefully planned, but essentially the Nellis 'Viper' team handles Block 40/42 work, the 'Skulls' look after the Block 50/52. As well as its F-16s, the squadron also supports the 40th FLTS with operational testing of the F-15C/D Eagle and the F-15E Strike Eagle, which is also conducted by the 'Green Bats' but in the Nellis environs.
Text and images taken from Jamie Hunter's book 'Testing Top Guns' - available from Ian Allan Publishing.
Photo captions
All photos: Jamie Hunter except where credited