The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School held a graduation ceremony for Class 153 on Friday, June 8. Thirty-four students successfully completed the intense 11-month course of instruction and were designated as Engineering Developmental Test Pilots, Test Flight Officers and Test Engineers. Graduates included members of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force, students from Canada, France, Italy and Spain, and engineers from NAWCAD.

The Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) 4.3.4 Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health (ESOH) team received their Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Environmental Awards during a ceremony here, June 13.

The CNO Environmental Awards recognize Navy ships, installations, teams and individuals for their achievements in environmental stewardship on an annual basis. The Air 4.3.4 ESOH team’s award is in the Environmental Excellence in Weapon System Acquisition, Large Program category.

NAWCAD recently hosted the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI) 16th annual Student Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) competition at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station (NAS) Webster Field in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) welcomed Airborne Systems Training and Research Support (ASTARS) III aircraft, the newest generation of flying classrooms, today at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) conducted its first flight of Airborne Systems Training and Research Support (ASTARS) III, Tuesday, August 21. The first flight objective validated the aircraft’s Naval subsystems ahead of its addition to the USNTPS’ class 155 syllabus which began last month. Class 155 will be the first class leveraging ASTARS III for all systems flight test events.

Rear Adm. Shane G. Gahagan turned over command of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to Rear Adm. John S. Lemmon during a change of command ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

Vice Adm. G. Dean Peters, Commander of Naval Air Systems Command, presided over the ceremony.

“NAWCAD is a hub of Naval innovation and technological advancement,” said Peters. “I am very proud of this organization under Gahagan’s lead and look forward to even higher levels of achievement with Lemmon.”

The command’s leading scientific and technical innovators were nationally recognized during a joint ceremony at Patuxent River Naval Air Station on Sept. 26.