Mission
Our Mission: To prove the superiority of systems required to meet the demands of the National Defense Strategy.
History
Once one of the Army’s largest training bases during World War II, Arnold Air Force base evolved from Camp Forrest, named after Civil War cavalryman General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The camp was a multi-functional military facility, serving as a training base for infantry, artillery, engineer, and signal organizations as well as a hospital center and POW camp.
In 1949, shortly before the war ended, Congress authorized $100 million for the construction of what would become the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC). General Henry “HAP” Arnold asked Dr. Theodore von Karman, one of history’s greatest aeronautical scientists, to study Germany’s rapid development of advanced jet aircraft and other systems which almost allowed the then Nazi-dominated nation to win WWII. Dr. Von Karman then formed a Scientific Advisory Group to chart a long-range research and development course for the future of the U.S. Air Force. The 1950s saw the development of three major test facilities that remain active today - the Engine Test Facility, the von Karman Gas Dynamics Facility and the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Test Facility. The latter was a key player in supporting Project Gemini, and the center played a multi-faceted role in supporting the Apollo Program, which put man on the moon. Apollo tests included aerodynamic assessments of the Apollo capsule and tests of Saturn 5 rocket upper stage engines.
The Arnold Engineering Development Complex is an Air Force Materiel Command facility and an important national resource. The center operates 68 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket motor and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges and other specialized units. More than 13 of the center's units have capabilities unmatched anywhere else in the world. The test facilities can simulate flight conditions from sea level to level to space and from subsonic speeds to well over mach 20. Additional information is available at the installation homepage at https://www.arnold.af.mil/.
Population
Arnold AFB employed a mixture of military personnel from the Air Force, Department of Defense civilians and contractors totaling 2,813 personnel in fiscal year 2024, which ran from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. Of these personnel, 48 were active-duty military; nine Air Force Reserve and National Guard; 416 appropriated fund civilian employees, which includes commissary tenants, general schedule and other military branches; 16 government non-appropriated fund employees; and 2,324 contractor and subcontractor employees.
Location
Arnold Air Force Base, home of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), is located in middle Tennessee nearly equal distance between Nashville and Chattanooga.
Arnold AFB is the perfect place to work and play. Scenic beauty surrounds a tremendous quality of life for residents. Nearby cities Manchester, Tullahoma and Winchester form a triangle around AEDC, which straddles Coffee and Franklin counties in Tennessee. The area rests on the Highland Rim, a natural division of the state with an average elevation of more than 1,000 feet above sea level. A moderate climate averages 80 degrees in the summer and 40 degrees in winter. There's an average rainfall of 54 inches and snowfall of 5.7 inches. Spring blooms and fall flourishes with color.
Base Transportation
Currently, there is no base transportation available on this installation.
