Commander naval Test Wing Pacific

Wings of Gold, Fall 2001

A graduate of the University of Virginia, CAPT Mike Rabens was winged in 1981. He flew Tomcats in VF-114, attended Topgun and subsequently graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School (TPS) at Patuxent River, Maryland. He was assigned to the Pacific Missile Test Center where, as lead test pilot, he completed the first successful Navy launch of the Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM). He participated in various missile program tests, F-14 software development and evaluation of the F-- 14 multi-mode gunsight.

Assigned to VF-213 he was a department head and designated Air Wing Strike Leader. After this tour he returned to Patuxent River as Senior Airborne Systems Instructor at TPS, then headed the Carrier Suitability Department and was also XO of the Strike Aircraft Test Squadron. He was lead test pilot for Night Vision Goggle modifications to the F-14 and conducted F-14 and F/A-18 carrier flight testing.

He was XO then became CO of TPS in 1997-98 after which he served in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program Office until 2001 as Deputy Program Manager for Test and Evaluation and Ship Suitability Integrated Product Team Leader. An ANA member, CAPT Rabens became Commander Naval Test Wing Pacific in July. In this capacity he has purview over the Wing's test squadrons at Naval Air Weapons Center China Lake and at Point Mugu.

We are part of the NAVAIRSYSCOM Team and are dedicated to ensuring that fleet aviators have the very best tools to fulfill their warfighting requirements. Our mission is to be the Navy's principal Pacific flight and ground test activity.

We're responsible for testing and evaluating the integration of weapons system in aircraft. A majority of our aircraft have been in the fleet for years but in order to keep up with ever changing threats they must be upgraded. That usually comes in the form of system modifications, especially software. In a way its like your home computer. The hardware will last for years, but without software upgrades and new programs it quickly becomes antiquated. It's the same with aircraft, their weapons systems and the sensors related to those systems. Indeed, much of our warfighting capability can be improved by software enhancements.

Among the many projects we are working on in the test wing are the Advanced Medium Range Anti-aircraft Missile (AMRAAM), the Stand-off Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), and Tomahawk. We have a skilled cadre of test pilots, most graduates of TPS, who ensure that the upgrades and modifications function properly. When we are satisfied they do, the aircraft or weapons system is turned over to VX-9 for operational testing. VX-9 is an element of Operational Test and Evaluation Force located in Norfolk, Virginia. (Note: VX-4 (Point Mugu) and VX-5 (China Lake) were combined into VX-9 a few years back. VX-9 still operates out of both bases.)

We fly F-4s, F-1 4s, F/A-18s, AV-- 8s, AH-1Ws, UH-1 Ns, C-130s and P-- 3s. The squadrons are like composite units, each equipped with a variety of aircraft and charged with multiple functions. An NP-3D, for example, has been modified to function as a telemetry relay during missile testing. It is also involved with NASA and with air ballistic missile defense activities.

Two-seat F-4 Phantoms have been long since removed from the fleet inventory but they remain valuable to us. They are used for electronic warfare testing over ships at sea and at China Lake's electronic combat range which is designed for that purpose. The QF4 version is used as target aircraft for various missile exercises. On specified occasions a NOLO (No Onboard Live Operator) QF-4 will be remotely controlled and positioned as a target for an actual live firing exercise. Recently at China Lake, for example, F/ A-18s launched both an AMRAAM and AIM-9X missiles and scored direct hits on separate QF-4s.

We normally have 16 F-4s on board but because of the cost of maintaining such a large number we usually keep only a half dozen or so in an up and ready status. The Phantoms are acquired from the military's desert storage facility or from foreign military sales and refurbished at NADEP Cherry Point.

The F-4 is also used for live ejection seat tests. With a pilot flying the aircraft up front, we've fired test seats with test dummies from the rear seat about 100 times over the years.

Tomcats are still very active at Point Mugu. F-14As, Bs and Ds are primarily involved in weapons system integration test and evaluation. F-14 software development is carried out at Point Mugu while that function for F/A-- 18s takes place at China Lake.

F/A-18s fly the most flight test work in the wing as they evaluate Operational Flight Program (OFP) updates for the F/A-1 8C/D and prepare for first deployment of the F/A-1 8E/F. A number of critical Hornet programs are in work right now, including ATFLIR, SHARP, advanced displays and the new electronically scanned antennae system (AESA).

The Weapons Test Squadron Point Mugu plans to transition from the P-3 to the C-130 for telemetry relay work. We expect to receive a special C-130 this fall, currently being overhauled at Greenville which will be configured with four stations on the wing for launching BQM target drones and will also be able to handle the telemetry relay mission.