46th Test Wing The 46th Test Wing ( 46 TW ) is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force last based at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida . The wing ' s 46th Test Group was a tenant unit at Holloman AFB , NM . Mission . The 46 TW executed developmental test and evaluation for Air Force air - delivered weapons , navigation , and guidance systems , command and control systems and Air Force special operations systems . History . World War II . The wing was activated as the 46th Bombardment Group ( Light ) and in 1941 , equipped with Douglas A - 20 Havoc aircraft . Its operational squadron s were the 50th , 51st , and 53d Bombardment Squadrons , and the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron . Shortly after activation in 1941 , the 8th Reconnaissance Sq mission changed and it became the 87th Bombardment Squadron . The 46th participated in maneuvers , including desert maneuvers , and flew anti - submarine warfare patrol and search missions over the Gulf of Mexico in early 1942 . It also served as an operational training unit , which involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres for " satellite groups . " In late 1943 the group mission changed to replacement training of individual pilots and aircrew s ( RTU ) . Just before disbanding , the group began to convert to North American B - 25 Mitchell s . In 1944 , the group was disbanded and its personnel , equipment and functions transferred to the 333d AAF Base Unit ( Replacement Training Unit , Light Bombardment ) at Morris Field in a major reorganization of the Army Air Forces in which RTUs were disbanded and training activities given to base units . Cold War . In March 1975 , 46th Aerospace Defense Wing was activated to replace the 4600th Air Base Wing at Peterson Field , where it took over the personnel , equipment , and of the 4600th and its mission of administering facilities of North American Air Defense Command ( NORAD ) , Aerospace Defense Command ( ADC ) , and Army Air Defense Command ( ARADCOM ) located on Ent Air Force Base , Peterson Air Force Base , and Cheyenne Mountain Complex , plus various other nearby off - base facilities , which the 4600th wing had been performing from Ent AFB , then from Peterson Field since April 1958 . Despite its name , the wing was a " disguised " air base wing . Although the provision of administrative and logistics support was the wing ' s primary mission , its flying training squadron served NORAD and ADC mission requirements and provided flying training for cadets at the United States Air Force Academy until 1 October 1979 , when ADC was inactivated and the wing transferred to the 4th Air Division of Strategic Air Command . In April 1983 , the 46th was inactivated and replaced by the 1st Space Wing . Test Operations . The 46th was redesignated as the 46th Test Wing and replaced the 3246th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida in October 1992 . It designed and performed flight and ground developmental tests with uniquely modified aircraft and facilities for conventional weapons and electronic combat systems . The wing also supported other Department of Defense components and numerous allied nations during test and exercises and managed the largest test range in the free world . Weapons systems recently tested by the wing include the Small Diameter Bomb , Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System , Joint Air - to - Surface Standoff Missile , Target Void Sensing Fuze , Advanced Medium Range Air - to - Air Missile ( AMRAAM ) , and the Trident Intercontinental Ballistic Missile . The wing worked closely with the 53d Wing of Air Combat Command , which performed operational testing of many of the same weapons systems . In February 2012 , the wing relocated its UH - 1N helicopters from Eglin to Duke Field in anticipation of a 250 percent increase in helicopter developmental test programs . The wing inactivated on 18 July 2012 , with its mission transferring to the 96th Air Base Wing , which was redesignated the 96th Test Wing . Lineage . Bombardment Group Wing Components . Groups Operational Squadrons Support Units