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RTC breaks ground on Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility

By Christy BarnettFebruary 23, 2021

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Feb 19, 2021) –

RTC breaks ground on Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a small groundbreaking ceremony for the Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility (ATIIF) was held Feb. 19 at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center’s (RTC) Aviation Flight Test Directorate. A larger ribbon cutting ceremony will be held when the construction is complete, which is estimated to be December 2022. Participants in the ceremony are from left: Mobile District Corps of Engineers North District Regional Area Engineer, Morgan Murphree; Redstone Arsenal Garrison Commander, Col. Glenn O. Mellor; RTC Commander, Col. Steven R. Braddom; RTC's Aviation Flight Test Directorate Commander, Lt. Col. Joe Minor; Turner Construction Huntsville Business Leader, Brendan McCormick. (Photo Credit: Preston Benson, RTC Photographer) VIEW ORIGINAL
RTC breaks ground on Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – This is the artist rendering of the Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility, a 65,000 square foot, eight bay facility located at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center’s Aviation Flight Test Directorate. (Photo Credit: Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District) VIEW ORIGINAL
RTC breaks ground on Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a small groundbreaking ceremony for the Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility (ATIIF) was held Feb. 19 at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center’s (RTC) Aviation Flight Test Directorate. A larger ribbon cutting ceremony will be held when the construction is complete, which is estimated to be December 2022. Participants in the ceremony are from left: Mobile District Corps of Engineers North District Regional Area Engineer, Morgan Murphree; Redstone Arsenal Garrison Commander, Col. Glenn O. Mellor; RTC Commander, Col. Steven R. Braddom; RTC's Aviation Flight Test Directorate Commander, Lt. Col. Joe Minor; Turner Construction Huntsville Business Leader, Brendan McCormick. (Photo Credit: Preston Benson, RTC Photographer) VIEW ORIGINAL

Construction is now under way on the Aviation Test and Instrumentation Integration Facility (ATIIF), at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center (RTC). The facility is located north of the current 10 bay hangar at the Aviation Flight Test Directorate (AFTD). A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony was held at the construction site on Feb. 19.

RTC is the primary test organization for the aviation component of Army Modernization – Future Vertical Lift (FVL). In order to support FVL and the upcoming Improved Turbine Engine program, AFTD needed to increase adequate footprint space to properly instrument and house unique test aircraft. The solution is the ATIIF, designed to accommodate all FVL candidates.

The ATIIF will be a 65,000 square foot, eight bay facility.

“This facility will ensure the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center is well postured to meet the requirements of Army Modernization, Future Vertical Lift and the entire Army Aviation community into the future,” explained RTC’s Commander, Col. Steven R. Braddom. “This dedicated space is required to ensure we have the ability to make test-specific modifications to aircraft and to house unique test aircraft out of the elements.

RTC is a U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command tenant activity on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. RTC encompasses more than 14,000 acres, or about one-third of the land area of Redstone Arsenal, providing cutting-edge test and evaluation support for its customers since the early 1950's.

In October 2010, the Aviation Technical Test Center from Fort Rucker and the Redstone Technical Test Center from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, consolidated to form the RTC. The creation of RTC was the last action to merge aviation and missile test efforts into a single command.

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