As the Army's 250th Birthday approaches, Yuma Proving Ground's history resonates

By Mark SchauerJune 3, 2025

Back in 1958 each member of the team did it all, they were riggers, packers, and jumpers. Pictured here is Sgt 1st Class Williamson preparing his chute for another free-fall exercise.
1 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Back in 1958 each member of the team did it all, they were riggers, packers, and jumpers. Pictured here is Sgt 1st Class Williamson preparing his chute for another free-fall exercise. (Photo Credit: US Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL
Pictured in 1958 these brave and courageous men were the first eight members of the High Altitude, Low Opening free-fall project for the Army Golden Master Program at the Yuma Proving Ground.
2 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pictured in 1958 these brave and courageous men were the first eight members of the High Altitude, Low Opening free-fall project for the Army Golden Master Program at the Yuma Proving Ground. (Photo Credit: US Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL
When the Yuma Test Station was re-opened in 1951, six different test activities reported back to separate home stations across the United States.
3 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – When the Yuma Test Station was re-opened in 1951, six different test activities reported back to separate home stations across the United States. (Photo Credit: US Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL
In 1966, the Mobility Test Article, an early version of the lunar rover, went through developmental testing on U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground’s vast ranges. The final product traversed the moon in 1971 and 1972.
4 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – In 1966, the Mobility Test Article, an early version of the lunar rover, went through developmental testing on U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground’s vast ranges. The final product traversed the moon in 1971 and 1972. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) has had many distinguished visitors over the years, but none as out-of-this-world as astronaut Neil Armstrong (left), the first man to walk on the moon....
5 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) has had many distinguished visitors over the years, but none as out-of-this-world as astronaut Neil Armstrong (left), the first man to walk on the moon.

Nineteen months after taking his giant leap for mankind, in February 1971 the Apollo 11 commander visited YPG to witness testing of the AH-56 Cheyenne attack helicopter, where he was joined by then-congressman Lucien Nedzi (right) of Michigan.

Though the AH-56 was cancelled by the Army the following year, the program was a boon to aviation testing at YPG, as it brought about the construction of a substantial amount of infrastructure like laser and optical tracking sites.

YPG has done testing for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) since 1966, when the mobility test article (MTA), a precursor to the lunar rover, came here for engineer design evaluations. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo)
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U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground testing has touched virtually every aspect of the M1 main battle tank, in a variety of situations that simulate the less-than-ideal conditions Soldiers might encounter in combat. The most recent example of this is a...
6 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground testing has touched virtually every aspect of the M1 main battle tank, in a variety of situations that simulate the less-than-ideal conditions Soldiers might encounter in combat. The most recent example of this is a test to verify new fire control software meant to improve the speed and accuracy of the platform’s 120 mm gun, .50 caliber and 7.62 machine guns, and grenade launchers, all while ensuring other aspects of the vehicle’s performance are not degraded. (Photo Credit: Mark Schauer) VIEW ORIGINAL
In 2010, the Zephyr unmanned aircraft stayed aloft for two straight weeks high above U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), setting a world record. In 2018, an upgraded Zephyr returned to YPG and shattered its previous record, flying continuously...
7 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – In 2010, the Zephyr unmanned aircraft stayed aloft for two straight weeks high above U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), setting a world record. In 2018, an upgraded Zephyr returned to YPG and shattered its previous record, flying continuously for 25 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes in YPG’s vast air space at altitudes far higher than normally achieved by commercial airplanes.

This year, the same aircraft used in 2018 returned to YPG, albeit with some differences. The Zephyr crew labored at YPG since late last year utilizing test flight vehicles constructed at 30% scale of the actual Zephyr and an instrumented full-sized aircraft that flew 18 days over YPG collecting data prior to the most recent record-setting flight. (Photo Credit: Courtesy)
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In early August, the Combat Capabilities Development Command-Armament Center and Yuma Proving Ground team made history by firing at the highest velocity on record with this program at Yuma Proving Ground from an Extended Range Artillery Cannon...
8 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – In early August, the Combat Capabilities Development Command-Armament Center and Yuma Proving Ground team made history by firing at the highest velocity on record with this program at Yuma Proving Ground from an Extended Range Artillery Cannon Test Bed. (Photo Credit: Ana Henderson) VIEW ORIGINAL
The recently developed Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) incorporates a long list of upgrades that make it significantly more advanced than its predecessor, the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. Multiple AMPVs underwent reliability, availability,...
9 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The recently developed Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) incorporates a long list of upgrades that make it significantly more advanced than its predecessor, the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. Multiple AMPVs underwent reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) testing at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), with each vehicle running many miles of simulated missions across road courses featuring various terrain conditions, from paved to gravel to punishing desert washboard that would severely rattle less robust vehicles. (Photo Credit: Mark Schauer) VIEW ORIGINAL
By the early 1980s, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology had been miniaturized to the point that a man portable backpack weighing a mere 25 pounds began testing with Soldiers at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG). Here, then-U.S. Senator...
10 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – By the early 1980s, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology had been miniaturized to the point that a man portable backpack weighing a mere 25 pounds began testing with Soldiers at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG). Here, then-U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater makes a close inspection of a man-portable GPS receiver during a visit to YPG in 1981. YPG was the home of GPS testing from 1974 through 1990. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL
Then-Lt. James Corcoran (right) arrived at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in May 1982, where he served as part of the post's Airborne Test Force. He left active duty after his tour in Yuma was through, moving to the National Guard for two...
11 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Then-Lt. James Corcoran (right) arrived at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in May 1982, where he served as part of the post's Airborne Test Force. He left active duty after his tour in Yuma was through, moving to the National Guard for two years and then the Army Reserve for 18 more. Now a retired Lt. Col., Corcoran has fond memories of this time at YPG. “It was a fantastic opportunity, and they were a great group of people. It was a great life and a great place to be.” (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL
When Larry Edens left U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in 1965, “The Sound of Music” was a popular movie, Lyndon Johnson was president, and the United States’ troop strength in Vietnam was escalating dramatically. YPG was Edens’ only...
12 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – When Larry Edens left U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in 1965, “The Sound of Music” was a popular movie, Lyndon Johnson was president, and the United States’ troop strength in Vietnam was escalating dramatically. YPG was Edens’ only permanent duty station during his time in uniform. After two years of active duty and three years in the reserves, Edens spent three years in the Tennessee National Guard and was promoted to captain on his last day. He returned to his job at DuPont in Tennessee, and later worked for his alma matter, Georgia Tech, for a number of years before retiring. Through it all, he considered his time at YPG as a formative experience, personally and professionally. (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL
PEO Aviation Program Executive Officer Brig. Gen. David Philips (left); Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team (CFT) Director Brig. Gen. Cain Baker (center); and Long Range Precision Fires CFT Director Brig. Gen. Rory Crooks (right) speak at a...
13 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – PEO Aviation Program Executive Officer Brig. Gen. David Philips (left); Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team (CFT) Director Brig. Gen. Cain Baker (center); and Long Range Precision Fires CFT Director Brig. Gen. Rory Crooks (right) speak at a media roundtable at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground on September 24, 2024. The roundtable discussion capped three weeks of demonstrations at the 2024 Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event (EDGE) held at the proving ground. (Photo Credit: Mark Schauer) VIEW ORIGINAL
From vision-based artificial intelligence learning to automating Kineto Tracking Mount-calibration processes, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground is already reaping dividends from the most recent technology, and more benefits are expected as the impact...
14 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From vision-based artificial intelligence learning to automating Kineto Tracking Mount-calibration processes, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground is already reaping dividends from the most recent technology, and more benefits are expected as the impact of the efficiency gains continues. (Photo Credit: Mark Schauer) VIEW ORIGINAL
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle has proved itself to be lethal and survivable in multiple theaters since first fielded in the 1980s. Recently, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground personnel conducted a production qualification test on the Vehicle Protection...
15 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Bradley Fighting Vehicle has proved itself to be lethal and survivable in multiple theaters since first fielded in the 1980s. Recently, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground personnel conducted a production qualification test on the Vehicle Protection System Base Kit (VBK), which utilizes sensors on the corners of the turret to provide 360 degrees of detection for incoming laser threats. (Photo Credit: Mark Schauer) VIEW ORIGINAL
Over the course of five days in December 2023, testers at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground fired eight full-up Spike non line of sight rounds in a variety of test scenarios. In more than one fire, the AH-64 Apache dropped down in altitude and even...
16 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Over the course of five days in December 2023, testers at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground fired eight full-up Spike non line of sight rounds in a variety of test scenarios. In more than one fire, the AH-64 Apache dropped down in altitude and even turned 180 degrees as the missile sped toward its target to intentionally lose link with the round to verify it would still hit the target on its automatic track: the link was reestablished before impact in one test, intentionally not reestablished in another. (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL
U.S. Army Cold Regions Test Center staged a multiweek test of the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) early this year. The XM7 and XM250 are successors to the M4 rifle and M249 light machine gun that American forces have used for decades....
17 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Cold Regions Test Center staged a multiweek test of the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) early this year. The XM7 and XM250 are successors to the M4 rifle and M249 light machine gun that American forces have used for decades. The new weapons boast improved accuracy and range, weigh less, and fire with less recoil even though it’s 6.8 millimeter round is larger than the two legacy weapons’ 5.56 mm cartridge. (Photo Credit: Sebastian Saarloos) VIEW ORIGINAL
Candidates to serve as the Army’s Arctic Mobility Sustainment System (AMSS) underwent rigorous testing at U.S. Army Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC) this winter with the help of soldiers from the Army’s 11th Airborne stationed at Joint Base...
18 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Candidates to serve as the Army’s Arctic Mobility Sustainment System (AMSS) underwent rigorous testing at U.S. Army Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC) this winter with the help of soldiers from the Army’s 11th Airborne stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The system selected as a result of this testing will eventually replace the legacy Ahkio sled and 10-person tent the Army currently uses. (Photo by Sebastian Saarloos) (Photo Credit: Sebastian Saarloos) VIEW ORIGINAL
The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) has undergone extensive testing at all three of U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground’s natural environment test centers—Yuma Test Center outside Yuma, Ariz.; Cold Regions Test Center at Fort Greely, Alaska;...
19 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) has undergone extensive testing at all three of U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground’s natural environment test centers—Yuma Test Center outside Yuma, Ariz.; Cold Regions Test Center at Fort Greely, Alaska; and, most recently, at Tropic Regions Test Center in the jungle of Panama. (Photo Credit: Carlos Mora) VIEW ORIGINAL
The historical test data possessed by U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground is extremely valuable for training artificial intelligence models to automate or expedite data reduction and analysis. A recent successful example involved developing a workable...
20 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The historical test data possessed by U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground is extremely valuable for training artificial intelligence models to automate or expedite data reduction and analysis. A recent successful example involved developing a workable algorithm to help facilitate the acoustic trilateration of air to surface missiles and other helicopter rounds collected from arrays of microphones and hydrophones on the post's highly instrumented ranges (Photo Credit: Mark Schauer) VIEW ORIGINAL
American Soldiers' advance in World War II was greatly aided by the M2 Treadway Bridge, the Army’s first modern tactical pontoon bridge, which had been rapidly tested at U.S. Army Yuma Test Branch (YTB) prior to the invasion of Normandy....
21 / 21 Show Caption + Hide Caption – American Soldiers' advance in World War II was greatly aided by the M2 Treadway Bridge, the Army’s first modern tactical pontoon bridge, which had been rapidly tested at U.S. Army Yuma Test Branch (YTB) prior to the invasion of Normandy.

YTB engineers also developed the cantilevered delivery system for the more versatile and robust Bailey Bridge, which enabled Soldiers to construct the bridge on the friendly side of a gap and push it across before engaging the enemy. By the end of the war, Allied combat engineers had erected thousands of these temporary bridges as retreating Axis forces destroyed permanent bridges behind them. (Photo Credit: Courtesy)
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The year is 1949.

The United States is four years past victory in World War II.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of 16 million American Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, the nation is safe from the aggression of hateful adversaries across each ocean.

At Yuma Test Branch during the war, engineers used the Laguna Dam to rapidly test and field thousands of pontoon bridges adequate to modern mechanized warfare.

Meanwhile, at Camp Laguna and nearly a dozen other sites across the Arizona and California deserts, 20 divisions of Soldiers had trained in general Geroge S. Patton’s Desert Maneuver Area, rationed to two quarts of water a day. Two of the divisions hit the shore at Normandy on D-Day, and 10 of the divisions of the 20 went on to liberate concentration camps in Europe.

The nation was safe. It was time to demobilize and enjoy post-war freedom and prosperity. Yuma Test Branch wasn’t needed any longer-- it was shuttered.

And then, in June 1950, a new war began.

Communist North Korea suddenly invaded free South Korea. In September, General Douglas MacArthur led a United Nations force in a daring amphibious landing at Inchon. By November, the North Korean invaders had been pushed back nearly to North Korea’s border with China.

The weather was brutally cold. The uniforms the American forces had were not suitable for the frigid conditions. Their rations froze to the point of being inedible. Then, an American force of about 30,000 near the Chosin Reservoir was attacked by a Chinese force four times as large.

The weather got worse. Rifle bolts froze shut in the most desperate moments of combat. Tank treads froze to the ground.

Against all odds, the Americans made a successful fighting withdrawal south across two grueling weeks of some of the most intense combat in the history of warfare.

What if their equipment had been up to the extreme conditions?

What if their equipment had been tested in a natural environment before their lives depended on it?

‘What if’ was a painful question America’s armed forces never wanted to face again.

Yuma Test Branch reopened as Yuma Test Station in 1951. A new name. A greatly expanded mission. One that has continued every year since.

It would be shorter to describe what the proving ground didn’t test in the following decades. If a Soldier drove, fired, or wore it, most likely it came here before it entered their hands.

As a multi-purpose test center that took on the lion’s share of the nation’s artillery testing, it was always a majority civilian post, with engineers and technicians busy testing numerous pieces of artillery and armored vehicles in the rugged desert.

In 1958, the Airborne Test Force, the Army’s most elite active-duty experts in all manner of cargo and personnel parachutes, was stood up here.

In 1963, the post got a new name: U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG). And across the long years in Vietnam, YPG’s personnel kept up the test mission. Virtually all the weaponry you can think of.

There was even more than that, though. In 1966, the highest-ever artillery shot took place at YPG. At the same time, NASA was testing the mobility test article, precursor to the lunar rover, across the rugged ranges.

In 1971, the aircraft armament testing mission permanently relocated from Aberdeen Proving Ground to Yuma Proving Ground. The nation’s first prototype and fielded attack helicopters got their potent compliment of weaponry thanks to the efforts of Yuma Proving Ground’s testers.

Around that same time, the post’s engineers were testing a network of satellites that came to be called the Global Positioning System.

The core components of the Army that roared to rapid victory in Desert Storm: the Apache attack helicopter, the M1 Abrams main battle tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, all proved their mettle here before Soldiers needed them there. In those years, a tread on an Abrams or Bradley might last hundreds of miles. After long testing at YPG, their life expectancy is now measured in thousands of miles.

The Soviet Union fell. The Cold War ended. In the early 1990s, the economy was in recession. Did America really need to invest as much as it did in its armed forces? Across the nation, bases were realigned and closed. People wondered if Yuma Proving Ground’s story was nearing an end.

And then, once again, the world changed. Terror visited the homeland in unprecedented fashion. Towers fell. The epicenter of America’s military was attacked.

The Global War on Terror was going to be a new kind of warfare. Irregular. American forces were targeted with improvised explosive devices rigged up by insurgents. Their power against unarmored and under-armored vehicles was deadly to American forces inside. YPG personnel worked 60- and 70-hour weeks, in some years on every day except Christmas, to rapidly test and field jamming devices for remote triggers and new armored vehicles with blast-diffusing V-shaped hulls. Their efforts saved the lives of thousands of U.S. Soldiers, and the limbs of thousands more.

And during those same years, guided artillery projectiles were tested and fielded. The punishing power of the King of Battle could be delivered with near pinpoint accuracy, sparing civilians while taking the fight directly to the enemy’s own hideaways.

Today, near-peer adversaries loom across the ocean. The United States isn’t going to be caught off guard this time. In 2018, the Army formed the Army Futures Command tasked with preparing for all comers in this multi-domain new world, and Yuma Proving Ground remains at the forefront of the constant effort to defend the nation. We hosted the first two iterations of Project Convergence, the annual capstone of Army Futures Command’s campaign of learning, the second of which was the largest single capabilities demonstration in the Army of the preceding 15 years.

YPG hosts the Experimental Demonstration gateway Event making the Army’s next-generation combat helicopter and the Joint Counter UAS Office’s semi-annual demonstration to fight and defeat small adversary unmanned aircraft.

The fight is more complex then ever, but Yuma Proving Ground is bringing its best to the nation’s defense. Machine learning and AI is being utilized to drive major efficiency gains in our testing.

For as long as the United States has a military, and for as long as America wants their Soldiers’ weapons and equipment to work as it should, the work of this post will remain vital and necessary to our national defense.

Eight decades. Soldiers. Civilians. Contractors. One team. One fight. For now and always, the story continues.