AFMC Center Breakdown
Structure
Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center
Activated on 31 March 2006, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) is the AFMC center of excellence for Nuclear Materiel Management (NMM). The center is charged with delivering nuclear capabilities that warfighters use every day to deter and assure. AFNWC is also responsible for synchronizing NMM across AFMC and the Air Force. As well, the NWC partners with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The center is composed of elements at 18 locations to include Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Hill AFB, Utah; Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; Eglin AFB, Florida; and Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts. It is headquartered at Kirtland AFB, a base with a long history of involvement in weapons development and sustainment. The center draws its heritage from the Special Weapons Center, which was based at Kirtland Air Force Base from 1949 to 1976.
Air Force Installation & Mission Support Center
The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC), headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, serves as the single intermediate-level headquarters responsible for providing installation and mission support capabilities to 77 Air Force installations, nine major commands, and two direct reporting units with an annual budget of approximately $10 billion. The AFIMSC cross-functional team provides globally integrated management, resourcing and combat support operations for Airman and family services, base communications, chaplain, civil engineering, contracting, financial management, logistics readiness, public affairs, and security forces programs. AFIMSC reached Initial Operating Capability on 1 October 2015, and a year later achieved Full Operating Capability in October 2016. The Air Force stood up the center to make the best use of limited resources in managing and operating its installations. Centralization of management support helps the Air Force realize better effectiveness and efficiency in providing installation and expeditionary combat support capabilities to wing commanders and mission partners. The consolidation of more than 150 capabilities at AFIMSC also helps major commands and direct reporting units focus on their primary mission areas.
Air Force Research Labaratory
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the product of a 1997 consolidation of all Air Force laboratory facilities headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB. Comprised of nine technology directorates and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, AFRL manages the discovery, exploration, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies. Researchers in AFRL leverage their capability to ‘push the limits’ of science and technology by partnering with other government agencies, industry, and academia, thereby encouraging effective solutions in the shortest time. The laboratory employs military and civilian personnel who are responsible for managing an annual multibillion dollar science and technology program including Air Force and customer funded research and development. AFRL investment includes basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development in air, space, and cyber missions. AFRL accomplishes its mission through the 711th Human Performance Wing, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and a central staff. The laboratory and its predecessors have overseen more than 80 years of critical research efforts for the Air Force and DOD.
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) is charged with life cycle management of Air Force weapon systems from inception to retirement. Key goals of AFLCMC are to improve weapon system acquisition and product support, simplify and reduce overhead structure, and eliminate redundancies by consolidating staff functions and processes. The center’s operating structure provides an integrated framework for decision making and process optimization across the weapon system life cycle. AFLCMC personnel work closely with their counterparts from the other five AFMC centers. The AFLCMC consolidated missions previously performed by the Aeronautical Systems Center and Air Force Security Assistance Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, and the Air Armament Center at Eglin AFB. One of the AFLCMC’s signature elements provides oversight of most program office personnel previously aligned in Aerospace Sustainment Directorates at each of the three former Air Logistics Centers located at Robins, Hill, and Tinker Air Force Bases.
Air Force Sustainment Center
With its headquarters at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) mission is to provide sustainment and logistics readiness to deliver combat power for America. The center consists of professional Airmen delivering globally integrated, agile logistics and sustainment. The AFSC incorporates a headquarters element, three air logistics complexes, three air base wings, two supply chain wings, and multiple remote operating locations incorporating more than 35,000 military and civilian personnel and Air Force contractors. The center oversees installation support to more than 75,000 personnel working in 141 associate units at the three AFSC bases. The AFSC provides critical sustainment for the Air Force’s most sophisticated weapons systems, including but not limited to A-10 Thunderbolt II, AC-130, B-1 Lancer, B-52 Stratofortress, C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules, E-3 Sentry, E-6 Mercury, E-8 Joint STARS, EC-130, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon, F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, HC-130, HH-60 Pave Hawk, ICBM, KC-135 Stratotanker, MC-130, RQ-4 Global Hawk, U-2 Dragon Lady, and UH-1 Iroquois aircraft, as well as a wide range of aircraft engines and component parts.
Air Force Test Center
The Air Force Flight Test Center (AFTC) was re-designated as the Air Force Test Center (AFTC) on 13 July 2012 and is an essential cornerstone to the command’s consolidation initiative from twelve centers to six. The Air Force Test Center, headquartered at Edwards Air Force Base, California, leads the test and evaluation (T&E) mission by conducting developmental T&E and evaluation of air, space, and cyber systems to provide timely, objective, and accurate information to decision makers. AFTC has oversight of work carried out at three primary locations across Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). Organizations include: 96th Test Wing, Eglin AFB, Florida; 412th Test Wing, Edwards AFB, California; and Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), Arnold AFB, Tennessee. AFTC has an exceptionally rich history and continues to be the center of excellence for flight and ground testing. AFTC’s focus today, and in the future, is summed up in its motto: “Ad Inexplorata...Toward the Unexplored.”
