page_title: 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron
section_title: Weapons testing
hierarchical_section_title: 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron / History / Weapons testing
caption_attribution_description: English: 422d Fighter Weapons Squadron McDonnell F-4D-32-MC Phantom 66-8700. Retired to AMARC 14 March 1989
context_page_description: The 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53d Test and Evaluation Group, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The squadron performs operational testing of all fighter aircraft and munitions entering and in operational use by Air Combat Command.
  The unit was originally formed as the 422d Night Fighter Squadron in 1943. After training in the United States, it was deployed to Ninth Air Force in England in the spring of 1944, prior to the D-Day landings in France. During the run-up to D-Day, the squadron trained with Royal Air Force night fighter units against Luftwaffe raiders who intruded the night skies over England. It was the first American squadron in England equipped with the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter. After the landings in France, the mission of the squadron became the air defense of Allied liberated territory. During the Battle of the Bulge, it also flew day and night interdiction missions against enemy troop movements, bridges and other targets of opportunity. It was inactivated shortly after the war in Europe ended.
context_section_description: The unit was reactivated in 1969 as the 422d Fighter Weapons Squadron when it replaced the 4539th Fighter Weapons Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
  Its initial primary mission was the operational test and evaluation of General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark aircraft.  Took over F-111As of 4539th Combat Crew Training Squadron, aircraft tail coded "WF".  In 1977, F-111 testing ended at Nellis and was relocated to McClellan Air Force Base, California, as Detachment 3, 57th Fighter Weapons Wing.  McClellan was the Air Force Logistics Command prime support depot for the F-111 and changes and modifications could be made there and tested by the detachment.  The 431st Test and Evaluation Squadron was activated at McClellan in 1980, replacing the detachment and remained active until June 1992 when the F-111D was retired.
  In 1971 the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II joined the squadron; LTV A-7D Corsair IIs were added in 1972, and were flown until 1975. A-10 and F-15 aircraft were added in 1977, as were F-16As in 1980.  In 1982 the 422 Fighter Weapons Squadron's name changed to the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), to better reflect its role.
  In 1985, the F-4E was retired from the 422 TES. During this time, the F-16C began testing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, as the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing, Det 1. In October 1987, Det 1 was closed at Luke, and its aircraft were moved to Nellis. This gave the 422 TES an aircraft complement of A-10s, F-15s, F-16As, and F-16Cs.
  1989 saw the rapid expansion of squadron capability with the addition of the F-15E and F-16C Low Altitude Navigation Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) aircraft. With these two systems, the 422 TES greatly expanded its ability to fly night tactical missions.
  1991 began with Operation Desert Storm. Although the 422 TES did not deploy for direct participation, it was involved in several quick look evaluations of equipment and employment tactics which directly enhanced the effectiveness of the air war. The efforts of the 422 TES over the past ten years to improve weapons, avionics, and tactics provided the ultimate reward: a quick and decisive victory.
  The 422 TES began 1993 with the return of a veteran aircraft to the lineup. The F-4G Wild Weasel officially became part of the testing program at Nellis on 1 February 1993. The Sikorsky HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter came aboard on 1 July 1995 as the newest member of the 422 TES team. Later that year the F-4 was retired again, as the last test F-4G was flown to the Aerospace Maintenance Regeneration Center in Arizona.
  On 1 October 1996, the 422 TES was realigned under the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, as the United States Air Warfare Center assigned all testing to this wing. The squadron grew to its largest size since World War II when the squadron inherited all test management, advanced programs, and test support from the 57th Test Group.
  The mission of the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron continues to grow in scope and complexity as new aircraft and systems are developed for use in the combat air forces. Recent testing by the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron has been focused on enhancing mission employment capabilities at night
caption: F-4 Division F-4D Phantom II 66-8700 in 1975
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