The Naval Air Systems Command provides cost-wise readiness and dominant maritime combat power insupport of all activities that make up the Naval Aviation Enterprise. NAVAIR employs about 40,000 people working at eight principal continental United States sites and two principal sites overseas, each providing anindispensable piece of the NAE equation.

NAVAIR integrates the unique engineering,development, testing and management capabilities at each of the sites to deliver airborne weapons systemsthat are technologically superior and readily available. NAVAIR’s full-spectrum and enterprise-wide approach positions the command to deliver its part of navalaviation solutions at optimal costs and provide support for vital programs.

Patuxent River is home to the Naval Air Systems Command headquarters and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. NAVAIR’s Aircraft Division at Patuxent River (including Webster Field Annex) is the Navy’s principal research, development, test, evaluation, and engineering and fleet support activity for manned and unmanned aircraft, engines, avionics, aircraftsupport systems and ship⁄shore⁄air operations.

With more than 150,000 air operations annually, pilots at Patuxent River fly 140 aircraft (40+ type⁄model⁄series) over 2,700 square miles of restricted airspace from surface up to 85,000 feet in the Chesapeake Test Range operating areas, which consist of selected targets and airspace covering regions over the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Additional air and sea space is available in the Atlantic Warning Areas, located east of the Delmarva Peninsula over the Atlantic Ocean. Scheduling these offshorewarning areas, where support is typically provided, expands that area to over 30,000 square miles.

The RDT&E capability ranges from concepts analysis and procurement to flight testing and supportequipment. Patuxent River has approximately a 22,000-member work force, 13,300 acres, five runways and 935 buildings with an estimated $2.8 billion value.

Test & Evaluation

NAVAIR test and evaluation develops and fieldsquality aviation vehicles, weapons systems and related products for the operating forces. NAVAIR supplies the people, processes, facilities and resources necessary to satisfy the test and training requirements of Navyprogram managers, fleet operators and other customers. The test and evaluation group at Patuxent River provides the expertise and facilities required to support all phases of testing for research, development, evaluation,experimentation, and in-service support of air combat systems, sub systems and related support systems. Training services are provided to the fleet through the development of training range systems and the use of test facilities and support staff for unit-level trainingexercises through large-scale joint scenarios.

AIR-5.1.;The Integrated Systems Evaluation, Experimentation and Test (ISEET) Department provides the people, processes, facilities and aircraft forexperimentation, and test and evaluation of battlespace concepts, systems of systems and platform systems. The Department is composed of test and evaluationengineers, project officers and test pilots who areresponsible for identifying program-critical test elements, designing experiments to evaluate battlespace concepts, translating engineering test requirements into test plans for flight tests, and analyzing flight test data to evaluate system effectiveness. The department is responsible for flight test safety, aircraft maintenance services and flight operations. In addition, ISEET provides test andevaluation acquisition planning for PEOs ⁄ PMAs ⁄ IPTs, provides resources and staffing to operate the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, and manages the NAVAIR Technical Assurance Board (NTAB), which monitors designated programs for technical issues arising from aviation test and evaluation.

AIR-5.2.;The NAVAIR Range Department operates major test ranges and facilities on the East and West Coasts of the United States. NAVAIR assets include the Sea Range at Point Mugu, Calif.; the Land Ranges and Electronic Combat Range (ECR) at China Lake, Calif.; and the Atlantic Test Ranges (ATR) at Patuxent River, Md.

In addition to the physical test areas, NAVAIRprovides associated test article preparation andinstrumentation, test facilities and associated threatenvironments, radar-cross-section measurements,specialized tracks, and interconnectivity with other major ranges and simulation and stimulation facilities in NAVAIR’s Integrated Battlespace Simulation and Test Department. NAVAIR’s premiere open-air range complexes provide test and evaluation and training support for fleet, program, commercial and foreign customers.

ATR provides fully instrumented and integrated test and training ranges for full-service support of cradle-to-grave testing and training. This support includes research, development, test and evaluation, and training of aircraft⁄aircrew and integrated avionics and mission systems. Real-time radio link reception, translation,processing and display of test data are available using the Real-Time Telemetry Processing System.

Airspace and surface target areas are used for test and evaluation of aircraft and for war fighter trainingmissions. In addition to radar and optical trackingsystems, fixed and mobile assets provide the necessary capabilities for diverse testing and training scenarios.

ATR provides real-time radio-link reception,translation, processing and display of test data using the Real-time Telemetry Processing System. This widely-used system provides real-time test information from up to nine separate in-flight aircraft to test engineers on the ground. Test teams operate the system from any of the nine project engineer stations.

The inshore operating area, known as the Chesapeake Test Range, consists of selected targets and airspacecovering regions over the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Additional air⁄sea space isavailable in the Atlantic Warning areas, located east of the Delmarva Peninsula over the Atlantic Ocean. ATR controls an aerial firing range and two exclusive-usesurface target areas in the Chesapeake Test Range restricted areas. The 1,000-acre Webster Field Annex is located about 12 miles southwest of Patuxent River. Webster Field is used as an auxiliary field for daylight testing and is the primary test area for Unmanned Aerial Systems. ATR provides real-time connectivity to NASA Wallops Flight Facility; Fleet Area Control & Surveillance Facility, Virginia Capes (FACSFAC VACAPES); NAVAIR simulation and stimulation laboratories; and other NAVAIR and DoD major test ranges. ATR is the Navy’s principal research, development, test & evaluation (RDT&E), fleet support activity for naval aircraft, engines, avionics, aircraft support systems and ship⁄shore air operations. The open-air range and ground test facilities developed for RDT&E also have tremendous application for fleet and war fighterpre-deployment systems grooming and readiness exercises. ATR coordinates multiple training events in airspace at ATR or at sites around the country. Carrier Strike Groups (CSGs) and Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESGs) are routinely supported: from small, unit-level events to large-scale, joint exercises.

The Air Vehicle Modification and Instrumentation (AVMI) group provides source data and air vehiclemodifications necessary to support the NAVAIR test and evaluation community. AVMI also provides resources for rapid, innovative solutions to unique prototyping needs of the Navy fleet. AVMI consists of three divisionslocated nationally.

The 5.2.8 Mechanical Solutions Division is located at Patuxent River. The division designs, builds and installs prototype aircraft and field system installations. Itprovides customers with a fully integrated engineering design, machining, sheet metal⁄composite fabrication, prototype modeling and installation capability.

The NAVAIR 5.2.9 Aircraft Instrumentation Division is co-located at Patuxent River and China Lake. The division designs, develops, builds, installs, calibrates and provides operational support of flight test aircraftinstrumentation and telemetry systems. The division also provides airborne video data support at Patuxent River and airborne mission system T&E software loads at China Lake.

The NAVAIR 5.2.J Airborne Instrumentation Systems Division is co-located at China Lake and Pt. Mugu, Calif. The division designs, develops, builds, installs, calibrates and provides operational support of miniaturized airborne weapons instrumentation and telemetry systems.

AMVI engineers proactively participate with other DoD activities, academia and industry on nationalinitiatives dedicated to the advancement of technologies associated with physical measurement, data acquisition, data communications, networking, telemetry and data processing.

AIR-5.3 The Threat⁄Target Systems Departmentprovides the resources required to provide threat-representative targets, simulations and presentations for test and training in laboratories, at sea, on land and in the air.

The Atlantic Targets and Marine Operations (ATMO) Division provides range clearance support to ATR. ATMO employees are also equipped with the skills and resources necessary to develop, construct and modifytarget systems for realistic threat simulation. Targets include aerial targets, land point targets, scored targets, seaborne targets and scuttled or afloat target ships.

Aerial targets include subscale subsonic targets,full-scale missile targets and full-scale aircraft targets - all capable of remote operation. Available aerial targets include the BQM-74E and BQM-34S (subscale subsonic recoverables); AQM-37 (a subscale supersonic missile); and GQM-163A Coyote and MA-31 (full-scalesupersonic missiles).

Seaborne targets include littoral and open-oceantargets such as the High-Speed Maneuverable Surface Target (HSMST), which at 40-plus knots can operate independent of ranges with a portable command-and-control unit, and the QST-35 Seaborne Powered Target (SEPTAR) which is used as a target and a range clearance boat and is capable of remote operations. Other seaborne targets include the Improved SurfaceTow Target; Trimaran and Williams Sled; FloatingAt-Sea Target (FAST); and the High-SpeedAnti-Radiation Missile (HARM).

ATMO can also fabricate a variety of fixed, mobile and anti-radiation land targets, which are constructed to meet specific program requirements. A low-cost, vacuum thermal-forming process is used to make a variety of plastic armored vehicle targets. These simulated targets support a wide range of RDT&E and trainingrequirements.

Many different types of full-scale, three-dimensional targets, adversarial and friendly, are currently produced: BRDM II Amphibious Scout Vehicle, SA-9 Gaskin, AT-5 Spandrel, T-72 Main Battle Tank, ZSU-23-4 Shilka,SA-6 Straight Flush, SA-6 Gainful, SA-20 Tombstone, 2S6 Tunguska, BTR-70, M2A2 Bradley, Stryker and HUMVEE. Several two-and-a-half dimensional targets are also available. They are designed to be indistinguishable from a 3-D unit at a distance of 1,000 meters and at angles deviating up to 10 degrees from a direct line-of-site with the target.

These aerial, seaborne and land targets, combined with updated range clearance capabilities, enableATMO to fulfill the constantly changing testing and training requirements of the fleet and RDT&Ecommunities.

AIR-5.4. The Integrated Battlespace Simulation and Test (IBST) Department is the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Center of Excellence and point-of-entry for modeling and simulation of the battlespace environment. The Department provides distributed event planning and execution and is the NAVAIR lead for the development and creation of synthetic and virtualbattlespace environments in support of research,development, testing, and experimentation. For large-scale simulations used across an acquisitionlifecycle, the Department is also the lead for modelmanagement, scenario development, interface support, distributed simulation expertise, and Verification, Validation, and Accreditation (VV&A).

The Department operates, maintains and manages the only Navy Installed System Test Facility (ISTF) tosupport test and evaluation events for a variety of aircraft avionics and weapons systems. These facilities provide both physical and simulated environments and are designed to place test articles in a realistic, yet simulated combat environment. From launch to recovery, every phase and aspect of a mission is simulated to enableengineers to capture data necessary to assess theperformance, mission effectiveness, and interoperability of avionics and weapons systems under test. IBSTfacilities are capable of producing real-world threatsignals, enabling engineers to evaluate avionics andsensor system performance, while also studying the Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3) these same signals have on avionics and other co-located systems. Aircraft simulators, utilizing extensive hardware-in-the-loop, are integrated into simulated combat environments to perform avionics and weapons system software test, human factor evaluations, and aircrew proficiencytraining. A multitude of communication simulationsprovide assessments of aircraft and aircrew communications and interoperability capabilities. The IBST Department also manages NAVAIR’s Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Network Domain and, as part of the NAVAIR’s Chief Information Office process, oversees the RDT&E Governance Board.

Additional capabilities proved ground RADAR cross-section measurements, missile fuse characterization and measurements and overall assessments of the entire kill-chain, from target identification, through target engagement, including damage assessment and indication.

Naval Test Wing Atlantic

Naval Test Wing Atlantic (NTWL), embedded in Naval Air Systems Command (AIR 5.1), Integrated Systems Evaluation Experimentation and Test (ISEET) Department, provides aircrew and aircraft assets, maintenance, operational and safety oversight and facility support to conduct research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) of manned and unmanned fixed and rotary wing aircraft; and train test pilots, test naval flight officers and flight test engineers to support the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE). The active-duty military employees assigned to the wing see themselves as advocates for the fleet with a continual focus on their war fighting requirements. Naval Test Wing Atlantic is composed of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Zero, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two One, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. It also includes the Fleet Readiness Center, formally the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department.

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Zero

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Zero was commissioned to safely provide assets and services in support of program teams, the fleet and other customers associated with research, development, test andevaluation of P-3 Orion, E-2 Hawkeye, C-2 Greyhound, C-130 Hercules, T-34 Mentor, T-6 Texan and E-6B Mercury aircraft and mission systems. The squadron is responsible for active flight test and evaluation in all phases of weapon system life cycle, including aircraft carrier suitability testing, navigation and aerialrefueling, strategic airborne communications, airbornesurveillance and intelligence collection, airborne early warning systems, carrier onboard delivery and advanced trainer missions. Additionally, VX-20 operates and maintains two NP-3 aircraft that provide customers a safe and efficient method to conduct a variety ofairborne scientific research projects.

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two One (HX-21Blackjack)

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two One performs developmental testing and evaluation of rotary wing⁄tilt-rotor aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as sensors and weapons systems for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The squadron iscomprised of military, civil service and contractor employees operating and maintaining a fleet of H-1, H-3, H-53, H-57, H-60, H-71 and V-22 series aircraft and UAV’s. HX-21 is actively engaged in the development of the next generation of rotary wing⁄tilt-rotor and UAVaircraft systems supporting USW, SUW, CSAR, NSW, AMCM, Logistics, Maritime Supremacy and Vertical Assault. The major flight test program platformsunderway include the AH-1Z Cobra, UH-1Y Huey, MV-22B Osprey, CH-46E Sea Knight, CH-53E Super Stallion, MH-60R and MH-60S Seahawk, VH-71A and the Fire Scout UAV.

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three is NAVAIR’s largest flight test organization. The squadron’s primary mission is to support the research, development, test and evaluation of fixed-wing tactical aircraft by providing pilot assets, maintenance services, safety oversight and facility support for these efforts. Primary areas of support include flying qualities andperformance evaluations, shipboard suitability,propulsion system testing, tactical aircraft missionsystems testing, ordnance compatibility and ballistics efforts, reliability and maintainability assessments, flight fidelity simulation and flight control softwaredevelopment. The squadron also provides government flight representatives, test monitoring, chase aircraftsupport, and facilities for contractor demonstration,validation, and development work involving tacticalaircraft and associated systems.

VX-23 consists of about 45 officers (Navy,Marine Corps and foreign), 120 enlisted (Navy and Marine Corps), 35 civil service and 340 contractor employees directly involved with maintenance,planning, safety oversight and support of the squadron’s 30-35 F⁄A-18A-D Hornets, F⁄A-18E⁄F Super Hornets, EA-6B Prowlers and T-45A⁄C Goshawks, plus theon-going contractor demonstration efforts with EA-18G Growler and F-35B⁄C Lightning II aircraft. Additionally, VX-23 is supported by hundreds of flight test engineers provided by the test and evaluation engineeringcompetency and various contractors. The squadronconducts over 2,800 flight operations annually, totaling about 4,000 flight hours, much of which involveshigh-risk flight test. VX-23 conducts operations from a facility that includes three large hangars and alsooperates and maintains a TC-7 catapult and MK-7 arresting gear facility.

U.S. Naval Test Pilot School

The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School providesfixed-wing and rotary-wing instruction toexperienced pilots, flight officers and engineers inthe processes and techniques of aircraft and systems test and evaluation. The school educates andtrains military and civilians from all U.S. militaryservices, other U.S. government agencies and foreign nations. The school investigates and develops new flight test techniques, publishes manuals for use bythe aviation test community in standardization offlight test techniques and project reporting andconducts special projects. The squadron maintains its staff as a focal point of expertise providing theaviation test community with engineering and training consultation.