DOD and NASA have formed a National Partnership for Aeronautical Testing to develop an integrated national strategy for managing their respective aeronautical test facilities with a view toward streamlining and economizing operations, according to a Feb. 23 Pentagon release. The governing body will be an NPAT council, with co-chairs John B. Foulkes, director of DOD’s Test Resource Management Center, and Lisa J. Porter, NASA associate administrator for Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.
The Air Force conducted its first successful test of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, on May 14, snapping a streak of three consecutive failed tests and giving the beleaguered hypersonics program a much needed boost. Off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A ARRW separated from the wing…