The 4477th TES o cially closed down in
March 1988, but the ‘Red Eagles’ remain
active, and the Nellis-based Weapons
School and 422nd TES still enjoy access to
a more modern range of dissimilar types.
These are owned by AFMC and are part of
the so-called Foreign Materiel Exploitation
(FME) program, jointly operated by
AFMC as well as Air Combat Command.
These ‘assets’ (including a Sukhoi Su-27P
photographed over the NTTR in 2016) are
highly classi ed and shrouded in secrecy,
despite a number of sightings.
Today, the ‘Red Hats’ remain responsible
for test and evaluation of foreign materiel
under Det 3 AFTC (Air Force Test Center)
and the ‘Red Eagles’ are formally known as
Detachment 3, 53rd Test and Evaluation
Group (TEG).51
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