The 1st Test and Evaluation Squadron (1 TES) is a

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

test and evaluation unit, located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The squadron is tasked with testing and evaluation of command and control systems for

Space Operations Command Space Operations Command (SpOC) is the United States Space Force's space operations, cyber operations, and intelligence field command. It is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado and serves as the U.S. Space Force's service ...

. 1 TES was activated on 27 August 2021 and assigned to

Space Delta 12 Space Delta 12 (DEL 12) is a United States Space Force unit responsible for space test and evaluation. It tests space systems and capabilities in support of weapon system acquisition, operational acceptance, and readiness. It was established on ...

, Space Training and Readiness Command.

Mission

Evaluate relevant command and control systems and plans for

, integrating continuously improving joint-combat capability to space warfighters and commanders.

History

World War II

The squadron was established by Headquarters,

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

in early 1940 as the 1st Photographic Squadron. It performed

aerial mapping Aerial survey is a method of collecting geomatics or other imagery by using airplanes, helicopters, UAVs, balloons or other aerial methods. Typical types of data collected include aerial photography, Lidar, remote sensing (using various visible ...

primarily over the northeastern United States prior to the

Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ...

, using obsolescent cargo and

Martin B-10 The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to be regularly used by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934.Jackson 2003, p. 246. It was also the first mass-produced bomber whose performance was superior to ...

bombers. After the United States entry into World War II, equipped with Lockheed A-29 Hudsons, Beech C-45 Expeditors and

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was o ...

s, they performed aerial photography and mapping over uncharted areas of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

and

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

for development of the Northeast Transport Route for the movement of aircraft, personnel and supplies across the North Atlantic from the United States to Iceland and the United Kingdom. The squadron re-equipped with long-range

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

reconnaissance aircraft and deployed to Alaska in late 1943, assisting in the establishment of landing fields in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

; they also mapped uncharted areas of internal Alaska to establish

Lend Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

aircraft emergency landing fields over the trans-Alaska route from

Ladd Field Ladd or Ladds may refer to: People *Ladd (surname) *Brent Ladds (born 1951), Canadian ice hockey administrator Places ;In the United States *Ladds, Georgia, an unincorporated community *Ladd, Illinois, village *Ladd, Missouri, an unincorporated c ...

and

Elmendorf Field Elmendorf may refer to: People with the surname *Dave Elmendorf, former NFL player * Douglas Elmendorf, 2009-2015 director of the Congressional Budget Office *Lucas Conrad Elmendorf, a United States Representative from New York *Steven Elmendorf, l ...

to Nome.

After the squadron was relieved from assignment in Alaska and returned to the Continental United States it deployed to the

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army for ...

across the South Atlantic Transport Route to North Africa in early 1944. It performed aerial surveys and mapping over

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

; Italy and along the North African Coast and Middle East with B-24s and some

Boeing B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

Fs converted to F-9 reconnaissance configuration over non-combat areas. It then deployed to India and China; performing unarmed long-range mapping of remote areas of the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was offi ...

over combat areas in support of ground forces and strategic target identification over Indochina and the Malay Peninsula for follow-up raids by

XX Bomber Command The XX Bomber Command was a United States Army Air Forces bomber formation. Its last assignment was with Twentieth Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 16 July 1945. History The idea of basing Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in ...

operating from India. The unit returned to the United States in late 1944. It was equipped with very long range

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

es converted to F-13A reconnaissance configuration. It deployed to the

Central Pacific Area Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, and one of three United States commands in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Admir ...

after the

Surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...

and was assigned to the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forc ...

. The squadron performed reconnaissance mapping flights over Japan, Korea and China. The B-29s returned to the United States in early 1946 for storage or reassignment; unit largely demobilized on Okinawa, flying some light liaison and courier aircraft. It was inactivated in early 1947 and disbanded on 8 October 1948.

Test Operations in the Pacific

The squadron replaced the 6400th Test Squadron, which had been organized in 1967, in 1969. It conducted weapons system evaluation, known as COMBAT SAGE, of F-4 aircraft, of F-15 aircraft from 1980, and of F-16 aircraft from 1982, until shortly before inactivation. It also trained visiting aircrews from other

Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (f ...

units in weapons employment and tactics.

Space Launch Test

The 1st Air and Space Test Squadron was a unit of the

30th Space Wing 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many soci ...

of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

, responsible for spacelift and test operations. The squadron's operations included launching of the Minotaur I and Minotaur IV and

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

rockets; as well as testing the Boeing Interceptor and Minotaur II target vehicles. The squadron's mission was to provide complete service launch and test operations for current and future space launch vehicles, targets, interceptors and experimental space systems.

Space Command and Control Test

Upon its creation, the

was assigned the cornerstone responsibility of "preserving freedom of action" in space. This required the creation of new capabilities to protect and defend the domain. This included, for the first time, a need to laterally integrate diverse and disparate space and ground systems into combined arms teams. In response to this need, the Command and Control Enterprise Test Team (C2ETT) was established at Peterson AFB in December, 2020 to begin testing a new generation of command and control and space battle management systems for Guardians. In August 2021, following the activation of Space Training and Readiness Command and Delta 12, the 1st Test and Evaluation Squadron was activated. Initially, 1 TES absorbed the activities of the C2ETT and integrated two detachments of the former

17th Test Squadron The 17th Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Space Force test and evaluation unit, located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The squadron is tasked with testing and evaluating space systems and associated support equipment. ...

, aligning more than 10 space command and control systems under test under a single commander for the first time. 1 TES now conducts command and control and enterprise test activities from its main location at Schriever SFB, Colorado, Detachment 1 at

Vandenberg SFB Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from th ...

, California, and Detachment 2, Cheyenne Mountain SFS, Colorado.

Lineage

; 1st Photographic Squadron * Constituted as the 1st Photographic Squadron on 22 December 1939 : Activated on 1 February 1940 : Redesignated 1st Mapping Squadron on 13 January 1942 : Redesignated 1st Photographic Mapping Squadron on 9 June 1942 : Redesignated 1st Photographic Charting Squadron on 11 August 1943 : Redesignated 1st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Very Heavy on 10 November 1944 : Redesignated 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, Very Long Range, Photographic-RCMRCM (Radio Countermeasures) would later be more commonly referred to as

electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

. on 4 October 1945 : Redesignated 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, Very Long Range, Photographic on 13 November 1945 : Inactivated on 10 March 1947 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948 : Reconstituted and consolidated with the 1st Test Squadron on 19 September 1985 ; 1st Test Squadron * Constituted as the 1st Test Squadron on 12 September 1969 : Activated on 15 October 1969 : Consolidated with the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron on 19 September 1985 : Inactivated on 30 October 1991 * Redesignated 1st Air and Space Test Squadron on 28 October 2003 : Activated on 1 December 2003 :Inactivated on 15 Aug 2019 ;1st Test and Evaluation Squadron * Activated on 27 August 2021

Assignments

* Office of Chief of Air Corps, 1 February 1940 * 1st Photographic Group (later 1st Mapping Group, 1st Photographic Charting Group), 10 June 1941 * 11th Photographic Group, 1 December 1943 * 311th Photographic Wing, 5 October 1944 *

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defende ...

, 10 November 1944 (attached to

, c. 9 September 1945) * 311th Reconnaissance Wing, 4 October 1945 (attached to United States Army Strategic Air Forces (Pacific) 4 October 1945,

Far East Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...

21 November 1945,

VII Bomber Command The VII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946. It engaged in patrol operations from Hawaii from January 1942. On the n ...

10 December 1945, Eighth Air Force March 1946, 1st Air Division 7 June 1946 * Far East Air Forces, 3 February 1947 *

Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been sta ...

, 11 February 1947 - 10 March 1947 (attached to 5th Reconnaissance Group) *

6th Air Division The 6th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Thirteenth Air Force, based at Clark Air Base, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 December 1969. Heraldry On a shield per chevron argent and ...

, 15 October 1969 * Thirteenth Air Force 15 December 1969 *

405th Fighter Wing The 405th Air Expeditionary Wing (405 AEW) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time. Currently, it is believed that the 405 AEW is inactive. History : ''F ...

, 20 April 1970 *

3d Tactical Fighter Wing The 3rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Eleventh Air Force. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The Wing is the largest and ...

, 16 September 1974 * 6200d Tactical Fighter Training Group, 1 January 1980 - 30 October 1991 * 30th Launch Group, 1 December 2003 – 15 Aug 2019 *

, 27 August 2021 – present

Stations

Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...

, District of Columbia, 1 February 1940 * Bradley Field, Connecticut, 5 December 1941 * MacDill Field, Florida, 15 January 1944 (deployed to Accra Airfield, Gold Coast, British West Africa, 11 March 1944 - 13 October 1944) *

Smoky Hill Army Air Field Salina Regional Airport , formerly Salina Municipal Airport, is three miles southwest of Salina, Kansas, United States. The airport is owned by the Salina Airport Authority. It is used for general aviation, with service by one passenger airline ...

, Kansas, 26 October 1944 - 31 July 1945 * Kadena Field, Okinawa, 9 September 1945 *

Clark Field Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

, Philippines, 11 February 1947 - 10 March 1947 * Clark Air Base, Philippines, 15 October 1969 - 30 October 1991 *

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

, California, 1 December 2003 – 15 Aug 2019 * Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, 27 August 2021 – present

Aircraft

* Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1942 * Lockheed A-29 Hudson, 1941-1942 * Martin B-10, 1940 * Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943-1944 * Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942-1945 *

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

, 1943 *

, 1944-1947 * Lockheed B-34, 1942-1945 * Fairchild C-8, 1940 * Beech C-45 Expeditor, 1940, 1946-1947 * Beech F-2 (see C-45) * Douglas F-3 (see A-20) * Consolidated F-7 (see B-24) * Boeing F-9 (see B-17) * Boeing F-13 (see B-29) *

Piper L-4 The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

, 1946 *

Stinson L-5 Sentinel The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Aircr ...

1946-1947 *

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and B ...

, 1969-unkn (at least until 1989) *

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

, 1980-unkn (at least until 1989) *

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a success ...

, 1982-unkn (at least until 1989) * Ryan BQM-34A Firebee, 1969-1989 * Raytheon MQM-107 Streaker, 1989-unkn.

Space Systems Tested

Minotaur IV Minotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It is operated by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carrying ...

, 2017 * Space C2 Open-architecture Operational Prototype (SCOOP), 2020-present * ATLAS, 2021-present * Combatant Commanders Integrated Command and Control System (CCIC2S), 2021-present

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Streamer

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force d ...

* 3 April 1975 – 31 May 31, 1975 * 1 July 1976 – 30 June 30, 1977 * 1 April 1980 – 31 March 1982 * 1 July 1985 – 30 June 30, 1987 * 1 June 1988 – 1 June 1990 * Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines) Streamer

Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines) Streamer

* Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation * 21 July 1972 – 15 August 1972 * *

American Theater of World War II The American Theater was a theater of operations during World War II including all continental American territory, and extending into the ocean. Owing to North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters o ...

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer

* European Theater of World War II * * Pacific Theater

List of commanders

* Maj Donald G. Stitt, 1 Feb 1940 * Maj Minton W. Kaye, 15 Nov 1940 * Capt Charles P. Hollstein, 10 Jun 1941 * Maj Richard W. Philbrick, May 1942 * Maj Albert M. Welsh, Dec 1942 * Maj Foster S. Randle Jr., Apr 1944 * Lt Col Albert M. Welsh, 16 Nov 1944 * Maj Foster S. Randle Jr., 10 Oct 1945 * Maj Howard E. Brown, 17 Dec 1945 * Unkn, Jan-Mar 1947 * Lt Col William E. Powers, 15 Oct 1969 * Lt Col William R. Martin, 21 Aug 1970 * Lt Col William J. Watson, 27 Jun 1972 * Lt Col Don O. Quane, 30 Jun 1973 * Lt Col Jerry N. Hoblit, 17 Jan 1975 * Lt Col James R. Alley, 25 Feb 1977 * Lt Col Charles N. Nielsen, 20 Nov 1978 * Lt Col Charles H. Holden, 30 Jun 1980 * Lt Col Roger L. Prather, 21 Jun 1982 * Lt Col Michael F. Tedesco, 1 Jun 1984 * Lt Col Willard H. Whitley, Jan 1986 * Lt Col Robert F. Fischer, Feb 1987 * Unkn, Jan 1988-30 Oct 1991 * Lt Col Kris E. Barcomb, June 2014 – July 2016 * Lt Col Jarrod Martin, July 2016 – June 2018 * Lt Col Brian Chatman, June 2018 - 25 June 2019 * Lt Col Ross Conrad, 27 August 2021 – present

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* *
AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol II
Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 30 Sep 76 {{DEFAULTSORT:1st Air and Space Test Squadron Squadrons of the United States Space Force Military units and formations established in 1969 Military units and formations in Colorado