REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (December 30, 2025) – It's been a challenging calendar year at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center, but the focus has remained the same: Supporting the U.S. Warfighter. Here's a look back at the year.
ATEC and RTC present on the Future of Test and Evaluation at AUSA Global Force Symposium
The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) and RTC presented at the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) Global Force Symposium and Exhibition (GFS&E) on March 26 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.
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The presentation, titled “Transformation in Aviation and Missile Test and Evaluation,” featured ATEC Commanding General Maj. Gen. Patrick Gaydon, ATEC Command Sgt. Maj. Bradford Smith, RTC Commander Col. Joseph Alexander, and RTC Technical Director Kenny Chenoweth. Gaydon began by outlining ATEC’s mission: performs test and evaluation to inform Army senior leaders. While the panel discussed ATEC’s overall role, they also emphasized the evolving role of RTC in supporting next-generation military platforms.
Click here for the story. Click here to watch the Warrior's Corner presentation. ATEC, RTC and Dugway Proving Ground leaders are all looking forward to presenting again in 2026 at the next Global Force Symposium in March!
New leadership at RTC’s Aviation Directorate
Lt. Col. Dan Brown assumed command of the Aviation Flight Test Directorate at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center in a ceremony held May 2, 2025, at the Aviation Test and Instrumentation Facility. He replaced Lt. Col. Andrew Rieck, who retired after 21 years of service.
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The Cutting-Edge of Climatic Testing: RTC’s New Multi-Environmental Chamber
Deep within the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center, a state-of-the-art facility is poised to revolutionize climatic testing for the Army.
The Multi-Environmental Chamber 3, or MC-3, is the latest addition to RTC’s capabilities portfolio, designed to push the boundaries of climatic testing like never before.
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Historic Achievement for RTC's Advanced Test Instrumentation Product's Test Division
In a groundbreaking accomplishment, the Test Set Integration (TSI) team from RTC successfully installed and validated the Air-to-Ground-Mission Systems Firing Test Set (AFTS) at Eglin Air Force Base.
This monumental feat, which took place in February 2025, marks the culmination of two years of tireless dedication and perseverance from the TSI team.
The TSI team is from RTC’s Environmental and Component Test Directorate's Advanced Test Instrumentation Product's Test Division.
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High Altitude Chamber Testing at RTC
The U.S. Army Redstone Test Center’s Propulsion Test Division has long served as the Army’s premier static test facility, boasting a rich history of evaluating propulsion systems within the Department of Defense. Located within RTC’s Missiles and Sensors Test Directorate, and with five test stands capable of accommodating solid, liquid, and hybrid rocket motors, the Propulsion Test Division specializes in static fire testing of systems generating up to 10,000,000 pound-force of thrust.
Recent developments at the High Altitude Test Chamber are no exception to the above statements. Utilizing three two-stage mechanical pumps for rapid evacuation of air, the chamber can simulate altitudes as high as 126,000 ft. at ascent and descent rates specified by the customer.
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NASA Selects former RTC XP as a 2025 Astronaut Candidate
One of NASA’s newest astronaut candidates U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph “Ben” Bailey. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, CW3 Bailey served as an Experimental Test Pilot here at RTC from spring of 2019 until the fall of 2024.
Bailey, a decorated aviator and test pilot with more than 11 years of service, was one of only 10 people selected from a pool of over 8,000 highly qualified civilian and military applicants. He will join the ranks of very few Soldiers who can also call themselves astronauts.
Civilian to Soldier: RTC Flight Test Engineer Joins the Army
Joel “Parker” Johnson, a U.S. Army Civilian flight test engineer at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center, is trading his desk for the cockpit after being selected as the top candidate in the highly competitive U.S. Army Warrant Officer Flight Training Program. Out of 328 applicants nationwide, Johnson ranked number one, embarking on a journey from civilian engineer to Army aviator. The next step for Johnson is to attend basic training in February of 2026. Then he will move on to Warrant Officer Candidate School and then Flight School.
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Safety Top of Mind at Stand Down Event
Something interactive, educational, and interesting. That was the goal of an annual event known as the Safety Stand Down. The event, held at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center’s Aviation Flight Test Directorate, is a requirement for Aviation units. As AFTD’s Aviation Safety Officer, Brent Mitchell’s job was to deliver on that goal.
Mitchell, and a team of people from AFTD’s safety, operations, and command offices, including Robert McAfee, Jessica Barkley, Joel Chandler, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Pat Flemming, Christine Gray, and Merril Lewis, worked for several months planning this latest Safety Stand Down event, held recently at AFTD’s main hangar.
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RTC in the Community
The U.S. Army celebrated a BIG birthday in 2025: 250 years of serving our country!
For the past several years, the Armed Forces Celebration Committee in Huntsville, Alabama, has hosted Gold Star Families at a local sporting event and requested a military flyover. Gold Star Families are those who have lost loved ones in military service to our country. It is always our pleasure to honor these families!
This year the Gold Star Family reception was held at the Huntsville City Football Club game on Friday, 6 June. Our Experimental Test Pilots who performed the flyover were also the ‘Heroes of the Game’!
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RTC also proudly supported a military flyover in support of the 2025 Louis Crews Classic home opener game at Alabama A&M University in September. While our mission is test and evaluation - we enjoy supporting a limited amount of community events in the area. Thanks again to our crew from AFTD for supporting this community event.
STEM Visits
When mission requirements allow, the RTC team enjoys sharing our critical test and evaluation mission with students in our community! In 2025, we supported several efforts, including the second year of presenting at a locally held Lego Robotics competition. Our engineers volunteers a Saturday afternoon in May to share about their careers as Army Civilian Engineers!
In August, we were invited to talk to students at Riverside Christian Academy in Fayetteville, TN, Tuesday, August 19.
RTC Commander COL Joe Alexander, Senior Chief Engineer Adam Turnbull and Test Engineers Jennifer Dennis and Anna Gardner spoke to the students about their careers and the path to becoming a Department of the Army Civilian Engineer or even a career as an Army Soldier!
2025 was a very productive and busy time for RTC and our amazing teammates and we are all looking forward to a great 2026!
The U.S. Army Redstone Test Center is located on Redstone Arsenal and is a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command. RTC provides technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, and capabilities to plan, conduct, analyze, and report the results of tests on missile and aviation systems, sensors, subsystems and components.
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