As the American Anthem concluded, two Navy F-35 flew over the crowd, marking the beginning of the Digital Test and Training Range ribbon-cutting ceremony May 16 at Nellis Air Force Base.
Leaders with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District joined Air Force commanders and Navy representatives to celebrate the completion of the facility, which will benefit joint operations.
“The completion of this facility is a testament to our commitment to delivering the highest standards in aerospace testing and evaluation,” said Maj. Gen. Evan Dertien, commander of the 445th Test Squadron. “The Digital Test and Training Range, or DTTR, is specifically designed to meet the unique and complex needs of the Joint Simulation Environment.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been involved with the Joint Simulation Environment program from the planning stages of the project, which began in 2018. The contract for the project was awarded in 2020.
“The DTTR project will serve as a model virtual training facility for other military installations,” said Justin Gay, Los Angeles District deputy engineer. “The Los Angeles District is a leader in national engineering and construction initiatives for military constructions projects.”
The DTTR is a more than 50,000-square-foot facility that has state-of-the-art simulators in a multi-level security environment to support developmental test and evaluations for multiple aircraft platforms. The facility is unique in that it provides a government-owned simulation environment and is readily reconfigurable for Air Force, Navy and Army aircraft.
“The Los Angeles District constructed the Digital Test and Training Range to military training specifications,” Gay said.
The $29-million project is the second Air Force DTTR facility constructed by the architecture development of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Naval Air Systems Command, at Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and through the continued partnership with the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“I feel like this was a very good project,” said Teryl Stacey, resident engineer for the LA District’s Las Vegas Field Office at Nellis. “Our office supports the warfighter. The projects we are building, and, not just this one, are used to keep our warfighters current.”
More than 40 subcontractors contributed to the success of the project, from design through construction.
“We continue to demonstrate our firm commitment to delivering projects without sacrificing safety,” Stacey said. “There were no construction mishaps over the 125,000 hours of work. The job was well staffed.”
"The successful completion of this project is a testament to the diligence and perseverance of everyone involved," Dertien said. “From the engineers and architects, who envisioned and designed this amazing facility, to engineers architecting the networks to our construction teams, who spent countless hours bringing it to life, everyone involved in this project has worked tirelessly to ensure that this building is an outstanding addition to the 445th Test Squadron and the U.S. Air Force.”
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