412th Test Wing The 412th Test Wing ( 412 TW ) is a wing of the United States Air Force , assigned to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base , California . Overview . The 412th Test Wing plans , conducts , analyzes , and reports on all flight and ground testing of aircraft , weapons systems , software and components as well as modeling and simulation for the USAF . It is also the host wing for Edwards Air Force Base , Calif . - the 2nd largest base in the Air Force . The wing oversees base day - to - day operations and provides support for over 10 , 000 military , federal civilian and contract personnel assigned to a 470 square mile installation . Approximately 1500 Test Wing Desert Warriors directly support the test and evaluation mission of the Air Force Test Center and the 412th Test Wing . The wing is responsible for operating the base , including the infrastructure , communication systems , security , fire protection , transportation , supply , finance , contracting , legal services , personnel and manpower support , housing , education , chapel and quality of life programs on a 301 , 000 - acre base in the middle of the Mojave Desert , the second largest base in the U . S . Air Force . The 412th TW is host to over 100 , 000 visitors annually and supports over 25 , 000 dependents , retirees , and veterans . Major units within the wing include the 412th Mission Support and the 412th Medical Groups , as well the 412th Civil Engineer / Transportation Directorate , 412th Security Forces Squadron and the Services and Comptroller Divisions . Staff agencies include chaplain services , base comptroller , inspector general , manpower and organization , and military equal opportunity and public affairs . History . World War II . The 412th Test Wing ' s origins begin on 29 November 1943 as the 412th Fighter Group , activated at Army Air Base , Muroc , California . Its original mission was to conduct tests and engage in experimental aircraft work , being assigned to Fourth Air Force headquarters . During World War II , much of Muroc AAB was dedicated to training combat flight crews . Throughout the war years , B - 24 Liberator s thundered through the Muroc skies and P - 38 Lightning s strafed the targets on the range as bomber crews and fighter pilots prepared to do battle overseas . However , a site was chosen alongside the north shore of Rogers Dry Lakebed , about six miles away from the training base at Muroc . A wooden hangar and rudimentary facilities sprang up and on 1 October 1942 the experimental Bell XP - 59A Airacomet first took off from the enormous , flat surface of the dry lakebed . The turbojet revolution had arrived . America ' s first jet plane was shortly joined by a second , the Lockheed XP - 80 Shooting Star . As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years , most of the actual flight test work on the XP - 59 was conducted by the contractor . Although Army Air Forces ( AAF ) pilots flew the aircraft from time to time , and flight test engineers from Wright Field reviewed the data , the formal preliminary military test and evaluation program did not commence until the Fall of 1943 , a year after the first flight . The 412th tested a wide variety of Army Air Force aircraft from November 1943 – 1946 . It was the first U . S . jet fighter group to be activated , and spent most of its early existence in experimental testing of the P - 59A and P - 80 aircraft . The group developed training programs and trained aircrew and ground personnel as cadres for newly formed jet aircraft - equipped units . It was inactivated on 3 July 1946 , its mission being assumed by the 2759th Experimental Wing . Air Defense Command . On 18 August 1955 the 412th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) was activated by Air Defense Command at Wurtsmith Air Force Base , Michigan . Assigned to the 4708th Air Defense Wing at Selfridge AFB , the mission of the group was the air defense of the Upper Great Lakes region . Operational squadrons were the 445th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , moved from Geiger Field , Washington , and the 31st Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , which was moved from Larson Air Force Base , Washington . The 445th FIS was equipped with Northrup F - 89 Scorpion s . The 31st FIS flew the F - 102 Delta Dagger , however it remained at the base only briefly , before being deployed to Elmendorf AFB , near Anchorage , Alaska , on 20 August 1957 to serve on Alaskan Air Command defense duty . The 31st FIS was replaced by the 18th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron on 20 August 1957 , being moved from Ladd AFB , near Fairbanks , Alaska . The 18th also flew F - 102s as the second FIS at Wurtsmith . With the transfer of Wurtsmith to Strategic Air Command jurisdiction on 1 Apr 1960 , ADC phased down its presence to a tenant organization . The 412th Fighter Group was inactivated on 1 April 1960 . USAF flight testing . On 1 March 1978 , the 6510th Test Wing was established and activated at Edwards AFB , California as part of a re - organization of units at Edwards by Air Force Systems Command . The 6510th assumed the flying mission of the Air Force Flight Test Center , which was established in June 1951 . The new Wing had a long , established history at Edwards , having been the base host unit since the establishment of the USAF Flight Test Center . In the late 1970s , the Wing flew flight tests on the F - 15C Eagle with its advanced engine and fire - control system ; the single - engine F - 16C Fighting Falcon with its revolutionary , " fly - by - wire " flight control system ; and the Rockwell B - 1A and the later B - 1B Lancer in the 1980s with its multitude of highly sophisticated offensive and defensive systems . These planes more than bore out the prophecy concerning the ever - increasing importance of systems testing and integration . At a remote location in 1978 and 1979 , an AFFTC test pilot and a pair of flight test engineers were engaged in proof - of - concept testing with Lockheed ' s " low - observable " technology demonstrator , dubbed " Have Blue . " The successful conduct of these tests led immediately to the development of a new subsonic attack aircraft that was designated the F - 117A Nighthawk . The wing performed free - flight testing of the Space Transportation System ( STS ) for NASA from 1978 – 1980 , and in April 1981 recovered the shuttle Columbia following the first - ever orbital mission of a reusable spacecraft . The wing continues to provide an alternate landing site services for STS recovery , most recently for the Atlantis during its STS - 117 mission . The dual - role F - 15E Strike Eagle was developed in the 1980s and went on to demonstrate remarkable combat effectiveness in the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict . The Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night , or LANTIRN , system revolutionized air - to - ground combat operations during the Gulf War by the same conflict by denying Saddam Hussein ' s forces the once comforting sanctuary of night . The wing deployed support personnel and equipment to Southwest Asia for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm from , August 1990 - March 1991 . While deployed , it performed tests on radar and weapons system accuracy . The late 1980s also witnessed the arrival of the first giant flying wing to soar over the base in nearly 40 years . The thin silhouette , compound curves and other low - observable characteristics of the B - 2 Spirit bomber represented third - generation stealth technology , following the SR - 71 and F - 117 . In June 1992 , Air Force Systems Command was inactivated , being replaced by Air Materiel Command ( AMC ) . AMC replaced the 4 - digit AFSC 6510th Test Wing on 2 October 1992 by reactivating the AFCON 412th Test Wing , which assumed the mission , personnel and equipment of the 6510th . The 412th also was consolidated with the 6510th , which preserved the history and honors of the provisional AFSC unit since its establishment in 1978 . In the early 1990s , AFSC received Y F - 22A and the YF - 23A Advanced Tactical Fighters , both of which would soon give a new definition to the term " air superiority . " The two prototype fighters were the first airplanes to blend stealth technology with agility and high - speed , supersonic cruise capability . The YF - 22A was selected to become the Air Force ' s new advanced tactical fighter after a brief demonstration and validation risk reduction flight test program . Now named the Raptor , the F - 22A continues to undergo test and evaluation by the Wing ' s 411th Flight Test Squadron . A new group of research projects came to the 412th TW in the 1990s . RQ - 4 Global Hawk , an unmanned aerial vehicle that has been used extensively in Operation Enduring Freedom ( Afghanistan ) and Operation Iraqui Freedom ( Iraq ) , made its first flight at Edwards in February 1998 and has gone on to fill a critical role in the Global War on Terrorism . The Martin Marietta X - 24A , Lockheed Martin X - 33 , Orbital Sciences X - 34 and X - 38 Space Station Crew Return Vehicle , a series of new lifting bodies , technology demonstrators and half - scale models that might make space flight , research and development safer and more economical , were tested at Edwards by NASA . Other projects of the 412th included XF - 35A Lightning II and Boeing X - 32 , competing models for the Joint Strike Fighter program , made their first flights in September and October 2000 . The X - 35A won the competition in 2001 and will eventually be built in various versions for America ' s flying armed services and for foreign air forces as well . Also new are the Airborne Laser Program and several Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Programs . Lineage . 412th Fighter Group Components . Schools