ARNOLD ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT COMPLEX, Tenn -- The United States Air Force Air Research Development Center assigned the following mission to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex, "The mission of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex was to construct and operate the Arnold Engineering Development Complex located at Tullahoma, Tennessee. The research and development facilities thereat, as a service to industry, educational institutions, and agencies of the Federal Government, for the development and evaluation of aircraft, propulsion systems and guided missiles."
Arnold Engineering Development Complex, Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) before July 2012, located at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee is a ground-based flight test facility operated by the Air Force Test Center. AEDC conducts United States Air Force developmental test and evaluation through modeling, simulation, and ground testing. This testing evaluated aircraft, missile and space systems and subsystems at conditions they will experience during a mission. It conducted a research and technology program to develop advanced testing techniques and instrumentation and to support the design of new test facilities and maintain and modernize the complex's existing test facilities.
AEDC's mission includes test and evaluate aircraft, missile and space systems and subsystems at the flight conditions they will experience during a mission to help customers develop and qualify the systems for flight, improve system designs and establish performance before production. It also helps users troubleshoot problems with operational systems. Conduct a research and technology program to develop advanced testing techniques and instrumentation and to support the design of new test facilities. Continuous improvement helps satisfy testing needs and keeps pace with rapidly advancing aircraft, missile and space system requirements. Maintain and modernize the center's existing test facilities. AEDC is an important national resource and has contributed to the development of practically every one of the nation's top priority aerospace programs, including better spacelift, aircraft, missiles and satellites. Many of these programs are highlighted in the following sections. AEDC is an Air Force Materiel Command organization managed by the Air Force but operated largely by a contractor work force. While AEDC's primary location is in Tennessee, it also operates two geographically separated facilities, the Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in Maryland, and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex, in California.