Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      New test force focuses on autonomyPublished Oct. 13, 2016
                    
                    By Kenji Thuloweit
                    
                    
                    412th Test Wing Public Affairs
            **EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --**The 412th Test Wing has a new organization that will explore the Air Force warfighting capabilities of tomorrow.
The Emerging Technologies Combined Test Force was officially activated in early July and its mission is to provide agile, innovative flight test capabilities for emerging technologies.
“We’ve had various commercial and innovation projects coming in and we needed a way to manage all of them,” said Maj. Dan Riley, the Emerging Technologies CTF director. “There are new technologies that are not necessarily highly developed and are not yet operational, but may be coming down the pipe – things we may not be prepared for. The CTF will create test capabilities that do not currently exist and help eliminate strategic surprise to the 412th Test Wing.”
Riley said that an increasing number of upcoming test programs are below the scope of the current CTFs in the test wing. The existing CTFs are focused on “high-performance, high-dollar figure items.” The Emerging Technologies CTF is focused more in the thousands of dollars range.
Currently, the primary focus for the new CTF is autonomous systems. Riley said these are the big technologies coming in the near future and are in large demand from the Air Force because autonomous systems provide a tactical battlefield advantage and can help reduce manpower requirements.
“Our manpower is shrinking, and we already have requirements that are greater than our manpower will allow. Autonomous systems will help us alleviate that problem,” Riley said.
However, testing an aircraft that is “self-thinking” and “self-learning” poses its challenges.
“We don’t necessarily know how to test autonomous systems,” he said. “For example, I have a system that is supposed to survey an area over here. We expect, based on terrain and weather, it should take a certain route, but then it takes another route and we didn’t predict that. But is that okay? Maybe it is or maybe not. We (the CTF) have to come up with plans and regulations so I can tell the operations group commander, ‘I don’t know what it’s going to do, but it’s okay.’”
With the recent explosion of relatively inexpensive commercial and military unmanned aircraft systems being used, the new CTF will initially focus on small unmanned aircraft systems. The goal of the new test force is to develop test plans and regulations and to identify areas around Edwards Air Force Base for testing these systems. The CTF works with commercial partners, NASA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Air Force Civil Engineering and Air Force Security Forces Centers, who use SUAS in their missions.
Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration published rules regarding commercial and civilian use of unmanned aircraft. The FAA publication grants more access to users, but there are still restrictions. The CTF hopes to create mutual partnerships with commercial SUAS producers so both sides can benefit from testing at Edwards AFB.
“We want to learn from what they’re doing because the commercial companies are far ahead of what the (Defense Department) is doing. Our focus is bringing the test capability to Edwards and figuring out how to test SUAS. The reason people want to come here is our restricted airspace. We can do things here they can’t do with the FAA. The CTF will oversee safety procedures and planning,” Riley said.
The focus on SUAS coincides with the Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan published April 30, which outlines the vision and strategy for the continued development, operation and sustainment of SUAS over the next 20 years for the Air Force. A large focus of the flight plan is autonomous systems.
According to Riley, “SUAS are the primary test bed for autonomous systems, and that is why we have the joint focus on both technologies.” 
The first official test of the CTF is planned for the end of November. The project was brought to the CTF from the base innovation team and will involve a quadcopter fixed with a transmitter to see if the 412th Range Squadron can calibrate their telemetry equipment more efficiently by using a non-fixed antenna that is mobile and above ground, which will be the quadcopter.innovative 



AFMC 



modernization 



412th TW 



Edwards AFB Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                Kendall, Allvin, Saltzman urge modernization while warning Senate of delayed budgets
                    
                    Readout of Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s travel to the Philippines
                    
                    Air Force senior leaders visit Eielson AFB
                    
                    Air Force leaders focus on ACE during Kadena AB visit
                    
                    USAF senior leaders visit Mariana Islands on ACE tripInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Cope Tiger concludes in Thailand
                    
                    Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil