LESSONS LEARNED IN COMBINED DEVELOPMENTAL AND OPERATIONAL TEST: TEN YEARS OF F-15 TESTING BY THE OFP CTF

摘要

The term "Combined Test Force" has become widely used across the US Air Force to describe a variety of organizational structures involved in flight test. In some, government and contractor workforces are "combined." Others combine test management (test planning, resourcing and reporting) with test execution. This article will focus on the combination of Development Test (DT) and Operational Test (OT) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Since it was formed in 2001, the Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force (OFP CTF) at Eglin has grown to be a successful example of how to combine the management of DT and OT for Air Force fighters. This paper will explain how the OFP CTF works, describe some of its success stories, and present some lessons learned that are applicable to other platforms and possibly other types of testing.