AEDC Velocity Alliance advances modernization for future test needs

  • Published
  • By Diamond Brown
  • AEDC Public Affairs
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  

As defense technologies continue to advance, the infrastructure used to test and validate those technologies must advance with them.

Arnold Engineering Development Complex, in partnership with the Air Force Test Center, has established the AEDC Velocity Alliance, a strategic consortium designed to accelerate the sustainment, restoration and modernization of critical test infrastructure supporting the development of next-generation defense systems.

The initiative represents a proactive approach to ensuring AEDC’s critical test infrastructure remains positioned to meet the evolving mission requirements.

The AEDC Velocity Alliance is a strategic, enterprise-level acquisition vehicle designed to modernize the nation’s premier aerospace ground test capabilities at the speed of relevance. Operating primarily under Other Transaction authorities provided by 10 U.S.C. § 4022 and 10 U.S.C. § 2808a, the Alliance creates a pre-qualified, competitive ecosystem of industry partners capable of supporting a multibillion-dollar portfolio of infrastructure projects.

"By leveraging the unique authorities of 10 U.S.C. § 4022 and § 2808a, the AEDC Velocity Alliance successfully bypasses the massive bureaucratic red tape of traditional acquisition processes to modernize our premier ground test infrastructure at the speed of commercial enterprise,” emphasized Greg Jones, the agreements officer for the AEDC Velocity Alliance Consortium. “As Agreements Officers, we have intentionally designed this consortium-based acquisition framework to ensure we operate with the highest level of procurement integrity, transparency, and at a level of acquisition speed AEDC has never witnessed before. Ultimately, this allows us to rapidly field a pre-qualified, competitive industrial ecosystem that is fully prepared to deliver next-generation capabilities to the warfighter."

Rather than waiting until an infrastructure requirement becomes urgent to begin identifying qualified industry partners, the Alliance establishes that industrial base in advance. Prospective members must meet established technical, cybersecurity and other requirements before joining the consortium, providing AEDC access to suitable organizations prepared to compete for projects as need arises.

This approach is designed to reduce acquisition timelines and allow modernization efforts to move forward more efficiently.

The importance of this modernization extends beyond AEDC facilities. The Complex provides the test environments needed to develop and validate advanced aerospace technologies before they are fielded. As those systems become faster, more complex and technologically advanced, the infrastructure used to test them must be prepared to meet those demands.

Modernization is essential to supporting next-generation warfighting systems, including hypersonic platforms, advanced sensors and technologies enabling the Long-Range Kill Chain. The Alliance positions AEDC to address the infrastructure requirements behind those capabilities at the pace and scale necessary to support the warfighter.

According to GovconWire.com, the Alliance will support projects across AEDC and its geographically separated units, with potential work including construction, process systems, electrical engineering, fire suppression, equipment repair and other specialized engineering and construction services.

The Alliance also expands the range of industrial expertise available to support the test mission. The consortium can bring together traditional and non-traditional defense contractors, small businesses, nonprofit organizations and research institutions to develop solutions for multifaceted infrastructure requirements.

Ultimately, the Alliance is about more than completing individual infrastructure projects. It is about ensuring the facilities and systems behind the nation’s test mission are prepared for what comes next.

By establishing qualified industry partnerships and an agile acquisition framework before requirements become urgent, AEDC is taking a forward-looking approach to sustaining and modernizing the test capabilities the warfighter will depend on in the future.

The AEDC Velocity Alliance represents a shared commitment between government and industry to ensure America’s test infrastructure evolves alongside the technologies it is responsible for evaluating, keeping AEDC ready for today’s mission while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.