Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) is a direct reporting unit of Headquarters, United States Air Force, headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. Established as the Air Force Test and Evaluation Center on January 1, 1974, it was redesignated under its current name on April 4, 1983. AFOTEC reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and serves as the Air Force's independent operational test agency, responsible for evaluating new systems under operationally realistic conditions before their entry into service.

The center employs more than 750 military and civilian personnel across its headquarters and detachments at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Edwards Air Force Base, California; and Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, along with multiple operating locations. AFOTEC manages more than 98 programs at any given time, evaluating the operational effectiveness and operational suitability of weapon systems and capabilities acquired for Air Force and multi-service use. Test teams collect, analyze, and report data to inform acquisition decisions at senior levels of the Air Force and Department of Defense. Since 1992, AFOTEC has been responsible for all initial and qualification operational test and evaluation previously distributed among the major commands.

In addition to studying fielded weapons used in Vietnam, a new Department of Defense leadership team began major acquisition reforms when the Nixon administration took office in 1969. Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard, who favored the "fly-before-buy" approach, and Undersecretary of the Air Force John L. McLucas, who had dealt with operational problems with the F-111 and C-5 transport, led the effort to define a new emphasis on operational test and evaluation (OT&E).^[2]

Several government committees, commissions, and agencies studied how to implement acquisition reform, including the benefits of independent operational test and evaluation. Participants in these studies, along with an increasing number of members of Congress, concluded that the developing and using commands had become less impartial about the capabilities of, and need for, their major acquisition programs.^[2]

In July 1970, a Presidential Blue Ribbon Defense Panel recommended the creation of an OT&E organization in each service, independent from the developer and user, and reporting directly to the chief of each service. Deputy Secretary Packard moved to implement the Panel's recommendations. By November 1971, Congress showed its support for OT&E by requiring that the services submit OT&E results before procuring new systems.^[2]

Congress expected the independent operational test agency in each service to evaluate a system against two questions: Is the system operationally effective? Is the system operationally suitable? Operational effectiveness addressed how well a system performed the mission for which it was designed. Operational suitability examined whether a system could be maintained, kept available, and operated reliably in the field.^[2]

Some members of the Air Staff, recalling the Air Proving Ground Command, sought alternatives to creating a new independent OT&E organization and contended that internal changes were sufficient. Air Force leadership also adopted a new division in which developing commands would conduct developmental test and evaluation while using commands would conduct operational test and evaluation. Senior Air Force leadership believed these changes could produce the balance and independence Congress and the Department of Defense sought.^[2]

In 1973, John L. McLucas became Secretary of the Air Force, and General George S. Brown became Chief of Staff of the Air Force. In September 1973, General Brown ordered the Air Staff to plan for a new independent OT&E agency. On December 11, 1973, a directive from Headquarters Air Force established the Air Force Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, effective January 1, 1974. The Center achieved initial operational capability in April 1974 and full operational capability by October 1974.^[2]

AFTEC's charter addressed the criticisms of existing OT&E practice and the Blue Panel's recommendations. As a Separate Operating Agency, the Center reported directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, establishing independence from the developing and using commands. AFTEC test teams would consist of specialists from units that would eventually operate and maintain the systems after deployment. The Center would provide evaluation results to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff at key acquisition decision points, and would conduct impartial tests under conditions as close as possible to field conditions.^[2]

At the same time, the Air Force took steps to avoid replicating the Air Proving Ground Command. AFTEC operated as a small management headquarters of approximately 200 personnel and would not own any of the systems it tested. Although AFTEC declared full operational capability in October 1974, by the end of its first year the Center had responsibility for only 32 OT&E programs, while the major commands continued to conduct OT&E on programs of their own interest. AFTEC was limited to monitoring OT&E of smaller acquisition programs at the major commands. The organization's small size required heavy reliance on the major commands to provide personnel for test teams and funding for OT&E.^[2]

In October 1976, Major General Howard W. Leaf assumed command of AFTEC and gradually implemented changes that expanded AFTEC's role in OT&E conducted at the major commands. Promoted to Lieutenant General and reassigned as inspector general of the Air Force, Leaf departed AFTEC in May 1980. During his tenure, he resolved AFTEC's budgeting difficulties, forged closer relationships with the major commands, and established three levels of AFTEC oversight for monitoring major command OT&E programs. Like his predecessors and successors, Leaf sought to involve OT&E testers as early as possible in programs to help confirm system readiness for test and to ensure tests reflected operational user needs. Early OT&E also supported the "fix-before-buy" approach by identifying problems before production, thereby avoiding costly modifications to fielded systems. Leaf's tenure stabilized the new organization and made it a more active participant in Air Force OT&E.^[2]

AFTEC's expanding contributions to Air Force OT&E led the Center to establish detachments and operating locations focused on the OT&E mission. While AFTEC headquarters remained at Kirtland AFB, detachments activated at Kapaun, Germany; Eglin AFB, Florida; Edwards AFB, California; and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Detachments supported broad categories of test, covering fighter aircraft, large aircraft, and munitions. Operating locations, smaller than the detachments and distributed across the United States, focused on individual systems.^[2]

On April 4, 1983, the Center was redesignated the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center. The new title more accurately described its mission of evaluating the operational effectiveness and operational suitability of new systems and clearly delineated its role as the Air Force's operational test agency.^[1]

Congress, with increased interest in understanding the operational effectiveness and suitability of major Department of Defense acquisition programs, directed the creation of the position of Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in September 1983. Congress required that the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) report directly to the Secretary of Defense and to Congress without intervening review or approval. Among the requirements Congress levied on DOT&E was creating and maintaining a list of major Department of Defense acquisition programs and preparing an annual report to Congress on programs of high interest.^[2]

Unrest in Europe in 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of that year and ultimately the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The United States began to reduce the size of its armed services. Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Merrill A. McPeak announced the consolidation of several Air Force major commands and personnel reductions as part of the broader Department of Defense drawdown.^[2]

As part of these reductions and reorganization, the Air Force changed its Direct Reporting Units and Separate Operating Agencies to field operating agencies assigned to appropriate functional chiefs at Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Because of AFOTEC's charter as an independent test agency reporting directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Center became one of only three direct reporting units in the Air Force on February 5, 1991.^[2]

Several proposals to consolidate Air Force OT&E at AFOTEC circulated during broad area reviews of the Air Force's reorganization. The U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board addressed the feasibility of expanding AFOTEC's role and scope of responsibility for the entire test and evaluation process, from the initial statement of need to the last major system upgrade. A Department of Defense Inspector General report criticized the Air Force for not having a single operational test agency.^[2]

In September 1991, Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Donald B. Rice and General McPeak created a new Air Staff office, the Director of Test and Evaluation. Retired Lieutenant General Howard W. Leaf became the first Director of Test and Evaluation in October 1991 and two months later proposed consolidating OT&E at AFOTEC. General McPeak directed that the Center continue its lead role in multi-service OT&E and take responsibility for all initial and qualification OT&E, along with selected follow-on OT&E, by June 1, 1992. This directive limited the type and scope of testing the major commands could perform. The number of AFOTEC-conducted tests rose from 47 to 186, and ultimately to more than 200. McPeak also directed that AFOTEC receive additional personnel to meet its expanded mission.^[2]

The Center's mission expanded again on October 1, 1997 when AFOTEC absorbed the personnel and workload of the Defense Evaluation Support Activity (DESA). DESA had experience with rapid test and was involved in testing advanced concept technology demonstrations, including programs that sought out emerging technologies for prototype evaluation by operational units.^[2]

While "fly-before-buy" has repeatedly shown its worth in thorough testing and early problem identification, the Air Force has remained constrained in the twenty-first century by "buy-fly-fix" practices. The Rockwell B-1B Lancer, for example, was declared operational with no conventional weapons capability beyond free-fall bombs; later modifications required substantial additional expenditure.

In 2020–2021, with the creation of the United States Space Force and its provisional Space Training and Readiness Delta, AFOTEC's Detachment 4 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, was transferred to the USSF. Detachment 4 had conducted operational testing and evaluation of space, cyberspace, information technology, missile, and missile defense systems. Major systems evaluated by Detachment 4 included the Global Positioning System, Space Based Infrared System, Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite Communications, Space Based Space Surveillance, Cobra Judy Replacement, Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System, and the Integrated Strategic Planning and Analysis Network. Detachment 4 was also part of the Ballistic Missile Defense System Operational Test Agency Combined Test Force, participating in tests and exercises evaluating components and spirals of the overall Ballistic Missile Defense System.^[2]

AFOTEC is headquartered at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, and oversees four active detachments and multiple operating locations and liaison offices across the United States.^[3] The Center employs more than 750 military and civilian personnel and manages more than 98 programs concurrently, evaluating weapon systems and capabilities in operationally realistic environments. AFOTEC test reports provide data on effectiveness, suitability, and mission capability to inform senior Air Force and Department of Defense acquisition decisions.

Programs under evaluation have included the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), the Air Force's replacement for the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. AFOTEC requested that GBSD be designated a "very large" program requiring a dedicated funding stream for testing expenses, noting that the scale and complexity of the ICBM modernization effort could rival the F-35 in testing scope.^[4][5]

The Air Force activated the Air Force Test and Evaluation Center as a separate operating agency reporting directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force on January 1, 1974, at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The Air Force redesignated AFOTEC a direct reporting unit to the CSAF on February 5, 1991. Later in 1991, the Air Force broadened AFOTEC's responsibilities by reassigning all initial, qualification, and selected follow-on operational tests and evaluations from the major commands to the Center.^[1]

The Air Force Organizational Excellence Award recognizes the achievements and accomplishments of U.S. Air Force organizations. It is awarded to Air Force internal organizations that are entities within larger organizations (unique, unnumbered organizations or activities that perform functions normally performed by numbered wings, groups, or squadrons). Then-Secretary of the Air Force Robert C. Seamans Jr. authorized this award on August 26, 1969.

The award ribbon has a narrow blue center stripe, flanked by a thin white stripe, a wide red stripe, a thin white stripe, and a narrow blue edge. A bronze "V" device is worn on the ribbon to denote award for combat or direct combat support actions.

AFOTEC has received this award since 1983.^[1]

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center emblem was approved September 25, 1974, and was based on the description of the roles and missions of the Air Force at that time.^[1]

The emblem features four blue and gold "deltoids," each carrying symbolic meaning representing four fundamental military objectives of the United States: to deter aggression; to resolve conflicts on favorable terms; to achieve national objectives; and to promote a secure international environment.

The four blue and gold deltoids symbolize the fundamental tasks of the Air Force acting as an instrument of national policy. The blue-gold color scheme divides the four fundamental tasks into eight equal segments signifying major operational tasks assigned to the Air Force:

1. strategic air warfare;
2. counter air;
3. air interdiction;
4. close air support;
5. aerospace defense;
6. air reconnaissance;
7. electronic warfare;
8. airlift.

The ultramarine blue segments represent the sky (near earth), the primary environment for Air Force operations. The golden yellow segments represent the sun (directionally depicted rising from the east and setting in the west as indicated by the deltoids) and the excellence required of Center personnel.

White contrails trailing the deltoids signify the test and evaluation process that follows concept formulation, validation, and full-scale development of systems and equipment.

The red scales portray AFOTEC's impartial and independent assessment of a system's value when weighed against fundamental military tasks and Air Force roles and missions.

Heraldic description: Light blue, issuing from base four contrails palewise argent terminating below four deltoids ascending, one in dexter flank, two in chief and one in sinister flank, the dexter two or and azure, and the sinister two of the like and or; surmounting the vapor trails a pair of scales gules, all within a diminished bordure gold.

1. A1 – Manpower and Personnel. Provides manpower, military and civilian personnel, education, and training services to AFOTEC-assigned personnel, including command duties covering health, welfare, morale, and disciplinary proceedings.
2. A2/A9 – Intelligence, Analysis and Assessments. Serves as executive agent for technical adequacy; provides program-by-program technical guidance and oversight to detachment Technical Advisors during the scoping, planning, execution, and reporting of independent operational test and evaluation.
3. A3 – Operations. Directs all OT&E planning, execution, and reporting activities and validates resource requirements, ensuring system employment and operational issues are properly represented in recommendations to the Commander.
4. A4/A7 – Installations and Mission Support. Centralizes management of support resources for the AFOTEC OT&E program, providing financial management, facilities planning, logistics, communications, contracting, and information management services to headquarters, detachments, and test teams.
5. A5/A8 – Plans and Programs. Develops and manages policy, programmatics, strategic planning, and test infrastructure solutions, including advocacy of fiscal resources and coordination with OSD, HQ USAF, major commands, and DoD ranges to align OT&E and fiscal requirements.
6. A6 – Communications. Provides expertise and policy command-wide in knowledge management, information technology, information assurance, and operations to support the AFOTEC mission.

Edwards Air Force Base, California. AFOTEC DET 1 had operating locations at Fort Worth, Texas and Arlington, Virginia. Detachment 1 led Block 2 and Block 3 Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation for the F-35 Lightning II. The Detachment 1 Commander served as the Joint Strike Fighter Operational Test Team Combined Test Director, leading team members from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, United Kingdom Air Warfare Centre, and Royal Netherlands Air Force in testing and evaluating F-35 operations, training, and logistics.

Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. AFOTEC Detachment 2 is located on one of the largest land-water ranges in the United States. The detachment tests new and advanced munitions, electronic warfare equipment, mission planning systems, combat support, and command and control systems. In 2007 the Small Diameter Bomb test team received the Air Force Association's Test and Evaluation Team of the Year award for outstanding achievement in test and evaluation of a defense acquisition program.^[6]

Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. Detachment 4 conducted operational testing and evaluation of space, cyberspace, information technology, missile, and missile defense systems before its transfer to the United States Space Force in 2020–2021.

Edwards Air Force Base, California. Detachment 5 is located in the Mojave Desert, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, and is co-located with the Air Force Flight Test Center to support integrated developmental and operational test opportunities. Detachment 5 has an operating location at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It performs operational test and evaluation of mobility, bomber, and command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance weapon systems. Major test programs have included the C-5M Super Galaxy, MQ-9 Reaper, RQ-4 Global Hawk sensor systems, C-130 enhancements, B-1, B-2, and B-52 bomber fleet upgrades, the Common Vertical Lift Support Platform, the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft, the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System, the KC-46A, and the HH-60W Jolly Green II combat rescue helicopter.^[7]

Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Located near the Nellis Test and Training Range, Detachment 6 conducts operational test and evaluation of fielded Air Force fighter aircraft, including live air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons testing at the Utah Test and Training Range and mission-level testing at the Nevada Test and Training Range.

Operating locations and liaison offices (former)

1. Arlington, Virginia
2. Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado
3. Hurlburt Field, Florida
4. Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
5. Marietta, Georgia
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

• Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center History and Research Directorate. AFOTEC History. Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico: Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center.
• Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Public Affairs Office, 8500 Gibson Blvd SE, Kirtland AFB, N.M. 87117-5670.
• Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

• Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center website
• Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center factsheet
• Air Force Historical Research Agency: Direct Reporting Units