The vast size of U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) includes nearly 2,000 square miles of restricted airspace, with clear, stable air and an extremely dry climate where inclement weather is a rarity.
These factors make the post highly coveted for aviation testing, and YPG’s Laguna Army Airfield (LAAF) is a busy hub for air sorties for both the test mission and training.
Safely accommodating LAAF’s thousands of aircraft sorties per year requires 3,000 feet of relatively flat land beyond its runway, and an additional 2,000 feet clear of obstructions beyond that.
“That means no fences, no posts, no houses, nothing,” said James Walk, Airfield Manager.
Special forces operators at the Military Freefall School (MFFS) that has been a tenant at YPG since the mid-1990s use the airfield to fly sorties to train thousands of the military’s most elite paratroopers. Fully 48% of all freefall jumps in the Department of War take place here, and the school’s footprint at YPG has expanded significantly in recent years with infrastructure such as a large vertical wind tunnel that opened in 2013 and a $48 million two-bay hangar dedicated in 2024 for the Special Operations Aviation Command flight detachment that supports training operations of the MFFS. Earlier this year, ground was broken for the construction of a ready building for MFFS students.
“The C27Js and Casas that belong to the Freefall School operate every day, and sometimes late at night,” said Walk.
YPG’s aviation personnel are testing some of the most cutting-edge platforms around—they have already hosted multiple demonstrations staged by the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team, including the annual Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event (EDGE).
“YPG was essential for us to have the simulated threat array to conduct the experiment in at echelon that would replicate an enemy capability that we would potentially face in the future,” said Brig. Gen. Cain Baker, Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team Director, following EDGE 2024. “YPG has the air space that allows us to operate at the distances we need and the instrumentation to collect the data to inform our requirements from an analytical standpoint.”
LAAF is the largest of the post’s airfields, and its location in an isolated area far from civilian housing or agriculture activities greatly reduces the presence of wildlife, most particularly birds, that can menace the mission. A quick internet search shows the serious safety hazards bird strikes can cause to military aircraft.
“Even a small bird can cause problems for an engine,” said Walk. “It hasn’t been a big issue because we are aware of it and manage their presence in the area. Nearby agriculture would probably be an issue: it’s not just birds it would attract, it could be coyotes or anything that can go under or over the fence.”
Likewise, solar or wind farms near a military airfield can also endanger the mission.
“A lot of solar fields are reflective: a pilot could be temporarily blinded on approach if one was located nearby,” said Walk. “Wind farms are also huge obstacles that would pose a hazard if they were near.”
Though it has been testing drones since the 1950s, in the last decade YPG has become critically important to testing defeat technologies as unmanned aircraft have gained prominence.
“Counter-UAS efforts are so important now due to the proliferation of drones in the battle space,” said Col. John Nelson, YPG Commander. “In the Department of Defense, the Army is the lead agency for counter-UAS development and in the Army test community YPG is the center of excellence for testing UAS. We’re turning over solutions for the warfighter every day.”
YPG’s isolation from populated areas also offers protection from interference in the radio spectrum. Things like cell phones, microwave ovens, and garage door openers all use the invisible resource that YPG testers rely on to support their highly specialized testing, from using radar and telemetry in evaluation of artillery rounds to replicating the radio spectrum as it is in various places around the world to facilitate the testing of technologies to defeat adversary unmanned aircraft.
“Counter-UAS has a lot to do with electronic warfare, and the counter-improvised explosive device mission was at YPG for two decades during the War on Terror,” said Nelson. “That really lent our range to presenting contested environments for the counter-UAS mission.”
Another crucial benefit to LAAF’s geographic isolation is the lack of places for surreptitious surveillance by America’s adversaries. Unlike some major military installations within city limits where spy photographers can monitor activities from adjacent houses or commercial buildings, YPG’s wide open, natural desert ranges present few places for a determined adversary to hide.
“We’re a restricted area,” said Walk. “If you have buildings nearby where people can take photographs from, it’s not good.”
Social Sharing