• March 5, 2010: Final Denial Barrier Installed

    Edwards Air Force Base began to employ a new net barricade system at North and South Gates. The new Final Denial Barrier System replaced the deployable submerged bollards and deflector plates, instituting in their place the use of a net to deter potential intruders. The basic purpose of the new

  • March 3, 2001: Robert J. Collier Trophy Awarded to the Global Hawk UAV

    The Federation Aeronautique Internationale awarded the Robert J. Collier Trophy to the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle system as the nation’s greatest achievement in aeronautics for 2000. Global Hawk was the world’s first fully autonomous long-range, high altitude surveillance and reconnaissance

  • March 2, 1983: Combined Altitude Radar Altimeter Begins Testing

    The F-16 Combined Test Force conducted the first flight of the APN-232 Combined Altitude Radar Altimeter (CARA) system. The CARA was a major Block 25B upgrade for the F-16C/D Multinational Staged Improvement Program (MSIP).The CARA was developed under an Air Force contract as a replacement for

  • March 1. 1935: U.S. Army Air Forces Reorganization

    The Army reorganized its air arm, assigning all observation units and stations to Army Corps area commanders. The remainder—all tactical fighter and bomber units—were assigned to a newly-created General Headquarters Air Force, with Maj Gen Frank M. Andrews as commanding general. The new arrangement

  • February 27, 2004: 30,000 Test Sorties Logged by F-16 Test Pilots

    Thirty years and 25 days after its first official flight, more than 200 members of the “Fighting Falcon” community gathered at Edwards to commemorate this milestone in aviation history and the more than 30,000 test sorties (nearly 50,000 flight test hours) since logged by F-16 test pilots at the

  • February 26, 1974: Live Firing Tests of a 30mm GAU-8 Cannon Mounted in A-10

    A test team began the first live firing tests of a 30mm GAU-8 cannon mounted in an A-10. The objective was to determine the compatibility of gun and aircraft. The seven-barrel Gatling-type weapon was 20 ft long and, with its high volume ammunition drum and 1,350 rounds of ammunition, weighed nearly

  • February 25, 1969: Edwards T-29 Aids Locals in Distress After Mudslide

    Heavy winter rains caused floods and landslides that blocked roads into the Antelope Valley and left the Red Cross unable to deliver blood shipments to hospitals in the area. An Air Force Flight Test Center T‑29 picked up the blood at the Hollywood-Burbank Airport, which was then delivered to the

  • February 24, 1984: F-15 Became the Air Force’s New Dual-Role Fighter

    The Air Force Chief of Staff announced that the F-15 would become the Air Force’s new dual-role fighter. During the competition, F‑15Bs modified for the air-to-ground attack role won out over the cranked arrow-wing F‑16XL in the Enhanced Tactical Fighter competition. This led to production orders

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