WSMR Test Center Commander speaks at the Professional Aerospace Contractors Association of New Mexico

WSMR Test Center Commander speaks at the Professional Aerospace Contractors Association of New Mexico

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (September 16, 2024) On Sept. 12, White Sands Test Center Commander Col. Matthew D. Johnson was one of 25 guest speakers that spoke at the Professional Aerospace Contractors Association of New Mexico (PACA) Briefing for Industry. The focus of his visit and brief was to introduce himself to the state’s aerospace industry leaders and to highlight WSTC’s facilities and capabilities.

“I am hopeful that my attendance here will empower more partnerships with organizations in this community so that the work we do endures and to ensure that the White Sands Test Center continues to be the premier test facility for the Department of Defense,” said Johnson.

He covered the installation’s facilities and testing capabilities such as open-air instrumentation technology, radio frequency, range control operations, threat presentation and targeting, high energy laser, and data archival and retrieval support.

“We partner with our military branches, international allies, and private industry partners to execute tests. We do experimentation, testing, research, and development,” said Johnson. “One of the things that makes our installation unique is not only the 2.2 million acres of land space we have, but it is also one of two places in the United States that is not under the control of the Federal Aviation Administration. The only other place in our country that has that is not controlled by the FAA is the White House. I own from dirt to space.” The only other place in our country that is not controlled by the FAA is the White House. I own from dirt to space. This capability allows White Sands Missile Range the ability to conduct a wide range of testing without concern for impacting civilian or commercial air traffic.”

WSMR Test Center hosts 6,000 tests, 700 “hot” tests, and 3,000 training events every year. WSMR is home to tenants such as the Navy, Air Force, NASA, and SOF-TEC who all routinely test and train on the range. Driving modernization on the range are the 1,500 civilian physicists, engineers, mathematicians and scientists responsible for radar tracking, optics instrumentation, nuclear reactor operations, telemetry tracking, network data collection and communications, data analytics, long range corridors, infrastructure, and missile assembly.

“There is a push in the networking and information technology spaces with artificial intelligence that we are looking to leverage in the future. Part of our modernization process is to not only test what is available but be positioned to test what is coming in the future,” said Johnson. “I want to ensure that everyone here has the chance to do what they need to do at the greatest test center in the world.”

After Johnson spoke, the conference was released to break-out sessions amongst the speakers where he held discussions with attendees and answered their questions regarding the range’s capabilities and testing services.

PACA was founded in 1984 and promotes a healthy and vigorous relationship between the aerospace industry and government agencies. PACA’s Briefing for Industry is an annual event held every year in Albuquerque, New Mexico and offers three days of presentations and an opportunity to meet with industry and government customers face-to-face. This event draws more than 500 industry and government representatives annually. The presentations feature business opportunities for the year and beyond and include descriptions of missions, program objectives and plans, and identify contracting opportunities and technical points of contact.