Photo By Mark Schauer | From left, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) Technical Director Larry Bracamonte,...... read more read more
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From its inception, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) has relied on state-of-the-art technology to ensure that the equipment issued to Soldiers works as it should all the time, wherever they serve.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Yuma Test Branch near the present site of the proving ground below Laguna Dam on the Colorado River in 1943.
This location was considered an ideal spot for testing portable combat bridges because of the abundance of swift flowing water that engineers could control.
At the same time the test branch began operating, the Army established Camp Laguna to train troops in mechanized warfare. Camp Laguna was one of 12 major U.S. Army desert training camps in the California-Arizona Maneuver Area, an 18,000 square mile area chosen by then-Maj. Gen. George S. Patton. Upwards of 15,000 troops were stationed at Camp Laguna at any one time for periods generally lasting six months.
After World War II, the Yuma Test Branch remained in operation, but testing activities were turned toward the effect of the desert environment on engineering equipment, such as high-speed tractors, semi-trailers and revolving cranes. In 1950, the test branch closed, only to reopen one year later with a new name, Yuma Test Station, and a greatly expanded mission that saw the facility take on the lion’s share of the nation’s artillery testing workload. Additionally, armored vehicles, armored systems, and air delivery systems began to be tested.
The post was renamed Yuma Proving Ground in 1963. In 1971, the aircraft armament testing mission was permanently relocated from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., to YPG after the most highly instrumented helicopter armament test range in the United States was constructed. Known as the Cibola Range, it is uniquely suited to support testing of aviation systems and munitions, armed helicopters, air delivery systems, unmanned aircraft, and precision navigation systems. The iconic AH-64 Apache helicopter underwent all developmental testing in Yuma.
YPG’s testing of unmanned aerial systems dates to the late 1950s, when the first hangar at Castle Dome Heliport, one of the proving ground’s multiple airfields, was constructed to support a drone competition. With nearly 2,000 miles of restricted airspace, the proving ground is as close to an ideal venue for unmanned aircraft testing as can possibly exist. The clear, stable air and extremely dry climate where inclement weather is a rarity makes it highly coveted by both military and commercial customers.
From 1974 to 1990, developmental work on the global positioning system (GPS) took place here. The testing came to YPG after the proving ground demonstrated it could conduct development at a lower cost and provide test data in a way no other test facility could at that time. GPS testing involved three flights a day for over ten years following the completion of significant upgrades to range instrumentation.
Over 200 miles of automotive test courses and other test facilities capable of handling nearly all types of field performance and controlled engineering tests have been established at the proving ground. These include paved inclines, side slopes, obstacles, calibrated ride and handling courses, a skid pad for dry and wet pavement handling, various material mud courses with adjustable moisture content, and cross country courses. Hundreds of thousands of testing miles have been put on significant military systems like the M1 Abrams tank, the M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Stryker Armored Vehicle, and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
Before and during the Persian Gulf War, all the primary ground weapon systems deployed to Saudi Arabia underwent tests at the proving ground. YPG also played a decisive role in supporting Soldiers deployed to Southwest Asia after the 9/11 attacks. When mortar attacks constituted the deadliest threat to American forces in the early days of operations in Iraq, the proving ground’s rapid testing of Counter Rocket and Mortar technology neutralized the danger. When insurgents shifted to the use of deadly roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices, YPG constructed highly instrumented mock villages that simulated not only the physical characteristics of Southwest Asian urban areas, but the electromagnetic environment that affects electronic equipment.
Needing an upgraded track to test combat vehicles, YPG partnered with the automaker General Motors (GM) in 2007. The deal resulted in the construction of paved and unpaved courses used by GM for hot weather testing of commercial vehicles, and the Army for military vehicles. GM’s Desert Proving Ground opened at the proving ground in 2009 and today tests virtually all vehicles manufactured by the company.
Today, the proving ground actively supports six of the Army Futures Command's Cross Functional Teams building the Army's future force, which seeks to retain overmatch with near-peer adversaries in a high intensity conflict while maintaining the competency in waging irregular warfare that has been achieved since the 9/11 attacks. YPG hosted Project Convergence 20 and 21, and Project Convergence 22 Technology gateway.
Desert natural environment testing takes place at YPG’s Yuma Test Center, with cold weather testing taking place at the Cold Regions Test Center, at Fort Greely, Alaska, and tropic testing at the Tropic Regions Test Center, which operates in Central and South America.
YPG’s mission today, as throughout its history, is to ensure that weapon systems and equipment issued to American Soldiers function safely and as intended wherever in the world they are called upon to serve. This work on behalf of America’s national defense is a source of intense pride for each of the over 2,400 Yuma County residents who work at the proving ground.
| Date Taken: | 05.03.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2023 14:51 |
| Story ID: | 443898 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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