Editing Holloman Air Force Base (section)

===Tactical Training Center===
Holloman was designated a [[Tactical Training Center]] on 1 August 1977 and on 1 October 1993, the Air Force Development Test Center at Eglin AFB was redesignated as the Air Armament Center (AAC).<ref name="Air Armament Center Fact Sheet">{{cite web|title=Air Armament Center Fact Sheet|url=http://www.afhra.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/433001/air-armament-center-afmc/|website=Air Force Historical Research Agency|publisher=USAF|access-date=3 November 2016}}</ref>

In 1986, a contract was awarded to Flight Systems Inc. (later Honeywell) to modify 194 surplus [[F-106 Delta Dart|Convair F-106 Delta Dart]] aircraft stored at [[Davis-Monthan AFB]] [[Arizona]] to the QF-106A target drone configuration. This program came to be known as Pacer Six, and the first flight of a converted drone took place in July 1987. Following the completion of an initial batch of ten QF-106s in 1990, most of the work was transferred to the USAF itself. Much of the conversion work was done before the aircraft were removed from storage at AMARC, with further work being carried out at [[East St Louis]], [[Illinois]].

The QF-106s began operating as a Full-Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) in late 1991 at [[White Sands Missile Range]] New Mexico, and later at the Eglin Gulf Test Range in Florida (based at Holloman and Tyndall). A typical mission would employ the QF-106 as a target for an [[infrared homing]] missile. The aircraft had burners placed on pylons underneath the wings to act as IR sources for heat-seeking missiles. The intention of the program was for the QF-106 to survive repeated engagements with [[air-to-air missile]]s, to make it possible for each QF-106 to last as long as possible before it was destroyed. The last shootdown of a QF-106 (57–2524) took place at Holloman AFB on 20 February 1997. The QF-106 was replaced by the QF-4 Phantom drone.

Today, the '''96th Test Group''' from Eglin Air Force Base Florida is responsible for operational testing and evaluation of new equipment and systems proposed for use by these forces. Current initiatives include advanced self-protection systems for combat aircraft, aircrew life support systems, aerial reconnaissance improvements, new armament and weapons delivery systems, and improved maintenance equipment and logistics support.