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Climatic lab plays crucial role in missile tests

by Lois Walsh
96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

9/6/2006 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- The 46th Test Wing's McKinley Climatic Laboratory played a key role this week testing a strategic missile in the Air Force's inventory.

The Cruise Missile Program Office from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., used one of the laboratory's chambers to test the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile, designed to evade air and ground-based defenses in order to strike heavily defended, hardened targets when launched from a B-52.

According to Col. John Parkes, the commander of the Nuclear Weapons Center's 498th Missile Sustainment Group, "The goal is to gather additional data for the weapon's systems reliability."

The program office also tests the AGM-86 air-launched cruise missile, the precursor to the AGM-129.

While most of the testing is traditionally conducted over land ranges, the climatic laboratory offers distinct advantages for the team. Colonel Parkes said the main reason why this ground test is important is because "it allows the team to build confidence in the missile's reliability numbers in a non-destructive way so that the missiles are recoverable.

"It also allows us to look at the missile as a system and do sustainment activities and checkouts. For example, we can put a new piece on (the missile) and test it from a system perspective and we don't lose a missile," the colonel said.

Currently, the program office tries to schedule four tests per year, based on Air Combat Command's direction. The command is the primary force provider of combat air power to America's warfighters.

Besides the ability to control the weather, the climatic laboratory offers several other advantages.

Jeff Taylor, ACM lead engineer, said there is also the ability to schedule the chamber, which greatly simplifies the process.

"Outdoors, these missiles have to have range time, chase airplanes, tankers, a B-52 (Stratofortress) and the missiles with coordination from five or six geographically separated organizations that all have to work the schedule and then factor in the weather," Mr. Taylor said.

Colonel Parkes said scheduling with the climatic lab increases the chance of the test being completed as planned and the cost to evaluate the missile is less than with a flight test.

"When we fly the missiles for real at a test range, the weather needs to be perfect," he said. "Here, it's just the lab's availability and we can also evaluate the missile's performance under other than perfect conditions such as rain, icing and extreme temperatures."

David Shafer, 780th Test Squadron project engineer, said the cruise missile ground test program has broken new ground in training and logistics for Eglin.

"We've trained our munitions handlers who normally work out on the ranges to serve as our load crew," Mr. Shafer said. "We are currently integrating a large inventory of new equipment to support cruise missile testing. We have the ability to exercise 95 percent of the missile's capability in the test chamber."

Temperatures in the chamber ranged from negative 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for the tests. Although no snow was used, the test included high winds and rain.