The Air Force announced Jan. 2 that the airmen of the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., who are known as the Lions, have won the 2008 International Test and Evaluation Association’s Special Achievement Award for extraordinary achievement in test and evaluation. “The Lions provided our combat air forces with the weapon systems they needed to find, fix, track, and destroy fleeting urban and fast moving targets,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Holmes, former commander of the unit. He continued, “Testing new aircraft, weapons and sensor upgrades is normally a three- to five-year process, but we tested and fielded several new systems in a matter of months.” The squadron conducts operational tests for new systems on A-10, F-15, F-16, and F-22 aircraft.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.