March 2, 2021 Strike Eagle proven capable of carrying 15 JDAMs on single sortie The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron successfully flew an F-15E Strike Eagle carrying six JDAMs on a single side of the aircraft on Feb 22, 2021, showcasing a proof of concept for Agile Combat Employment, known as “ACE.”
Feb. 26, 2021 Squadron Innovation solves decade-long issue for the F-15E The aircraft Modification Support Team lead, Mr. Carlos Oregon, in the Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force designed and built a tester to safeguard the AN/ASQ-236 “Dragon’s Eye” Radar Pod, a limited and precious asset in the F-15E Strike Eagle community.
Feb. 10, 2021 Bomber interoperability: from flyovers to operational application A B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress flew together on February 3, 2021 over the skies of Barksdale Air Force Base; this dissimilar formation wasn’t in preparation for the bomber Super Bowl flyover that would happen days later, but rather for an operational test sortie executed by the 337th and 49th
Jan. 14, 2021 337th TES supports WSINT The 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron deployed 2 B-1B Lancers to Nellis AFB from November to December 2020 to support the 77th Weapons Squadron during U.S. Air Force Weapons School Integration, known as WSINT, helping to produce two Weapons Officers for the B-1 community.
Jan. 8, 2021 The 81st Air Control Squadron Completes COMBAT SENTRY 21A, integrating WSEP with E-3G Operational Test The 81st Air Control Squadron, in coordination with the 83d Fighter Weapon Squadron, 82d Aerial Target Squadron, and the 53d Test Support Squadron, planned and conducted COMBAT SENTRY 21A from December 7-15, 2020.
Dec. 27, 2020 The future of test: Black Flag General Mark D. Kelly signed COMACC Plan 21 on December 15, 2020, effectively formalizing the 53rd Wing’s Large Force Test Events into “Black Flag” – an event solely focused on test and tactics development in a realistic, massed force, fully integrated, high threat density environment. Established
Nov. 30, 2020 “As goes the 53rd Wing, so goes the Air Force” Gen. Mark Kelly, commander of Air Combat Command, and Chief Master Sgt. David Wade, ACC command chief, visited the 53rd Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Nov. 23-24, 2020. Their visit with 53rd Wing Airmen showcased test, evaluation, and mission data reprogramming, highlighting the wing’s drive
Nov. 20, 2020 LFTE 20.03 sets standard for future test events LFTE 20.03 integrated ten weapons systems, including the F-35, F-22, F-15E, F-16, A-10, E/A-18G, HH-60G, EC-130H, KC-46, and KC-135, from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy on November 17, 2020 to test four Tactics Improvement Proposals, known as TIPs, as well as various high priority tests.
June 19, 2020 53rd Test Support Squadron Change of Command U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Christopher Byrne, 53rd Test Support Squadron commander, right, assumes command from U.S. Air Force Col. Nicholas Reed, 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group commander, left, at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, on June 12, 2020. U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Shaun Barnette, 53rd
Dec. 26, 2019 Military conducts first test of Advanced Battle Management System The Air Force, Navy and Army used new methods and technology Dec. 16-18 for collecting, analyzing and sharing information in real time to identify and defeat a simulated cruise missile threat.