It is the Air Force Materiel Command center for conducting and supporting research and development of flight, as well as testing and evaluating aerospace systems from concept to combat.

[6][7] Conscious that March Field was located in an area of increasing growth in Riverside County, and with the need for bombing and gunnery ranges for his units, base and 1st Wing commander Lieutenant Colonel Henry H. "Hap" Arnold began the process of acquiring land next to Muroc Dry Lake for a new bombing range away from populated areas in August 1932; the last tract was not acquired until 1939.

[8] At this time, another colorful character in Edwards' history, Pancho Barnes, built her renowned Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn Dude Ranch that would be the scene of many parties and celebrations to come.

Muroc Field drew attention because the nearby dry lake was so flat (Arnold described it as "level as a billiard table") that it could serve as a giant runway, ideal for flight testing.

[6] Download coordinates as: On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, the 41st Bombardment Group and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Muroc from Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona, with a collection of B-18 Bolos, B-25 Mitchells, and an A-29 Hudson.

Throughout the war years, the primary mission at Muroc was providing final combat training for bomber and fighter aircrews just before overseas deployment.

After examining a number of locations around the country, they selected a site along the north shore of the enormous, flat surface of Rogers Dry Lake about six miles away from the training base at Muroc.

However, the first official flight was 1 October 1942 with NACA, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, Royal Air Force, Army, Bell and General Electric personnel on hand.

Designed to validate the contractor's reports, this preliminary evaluation consisted of a very limited number of flights and was essentially completed within a month.

It was obvious even at this embryonic stage of base development that the Army Air Force desert station was destined to become a proving ground for aircraft and a testing site for experimental airplanes.

The rocket-powered Bell X-1 was the first in a long series of experimental airplanes designed to prove or disprove aeronautical concepts—to probe the most challenging unknowns of flight and solve its mysteries.

[6] Further evidence of things to come was experienced on 14 October 1947 when Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager flew the small bullet-shaped airplane to become the first human to exceed the speed of sound.

Highly experimental research programs—such as the X-3, X-4, X-5 and XF-92A—were typically flown in conjunction with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, and were conducted in a methodical fashion to answer largely theoretical questions.

[6] During World War II, he flew A-20 Havoc light attack bombers in the North African campaign on 50 hazardous, low-level missions against German tanks, convoys, troops, bridges, airfields, and other tactical targets.

As the decade opened, the first-generation X-1 reached Mach 1.45 (1,776 km/h; 1,104 mph) and a 71,902 feet (13.6178 mi; 21.916 km) altitude, representing the edge of the envelope.

In 1951, Douglas test pilot Bill Bridgeman flew the Skyrocket to a top speed of Mach 1.88 (2,303 km/h; 1,431 mph) and a peak altitude of 74,494 feet (14.1087 mi; 22.706 km).

Then, in 1953, Marine Corps test pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Marion Carl, flew the same plane to an altitude of 83,235 feet (15.7642 mi; 25.370 km).

[16] The promise of the turbojet revolution and the supersonic breakthrough were realized in the 1950s, as the Center tested and developed the first generation of true supersonic fighters—the famed "Century Series" F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 Voodoo, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief and F-106 Delta Dart, and, in the process, defined the basic speed and altitude envelopes for fighter aircraft that still prevail to this day.

The Center also played a pivotal role in the development of systems that would provide the United States with true intercontinental power projection capabilities as it tested aircraft such as the B-52 Stratofortress, C-133 Cargomaster and KC-135 Stratotanker, as well as the YC-130 Hercules which served as the basis for a classic series of tactical transports that would continue in frontline service until well into the 21st century.

These rocket powered-vehicles – the M2-F2, M2-F3, HL-10, X-24A and X-24B – paved the way for the Space Shuttle and future spaceplane designs when they demonstrated that they could make precision landings after high-speed gliding descents from high altitude.

[16] The major aircraft systems that were tested and developed during the 1960s, the T-38 Talon, B-52H Stratofortress, F-4 and RF-4 Phantom II, the F-111 and FB-111, C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy, all became mainstays in the USAF operational inventory.

The SR-71's full capabilities remain classified, but the records set on 1 May 1965 included a sustained speed of 2,070 miles per hour (3,330 km/h) and an altitude of 80,257 feet (15 mi; 24 km).

[6][15] The 1980s also saw Edwards host a demonstration of America's space warfare capabilities when a highly modified F-15 Eagle launched an ASM-135 anti-satellite missile at the dead P78-1 (or Solwind) satellite and destroyed it.

Originally intended to help develop a V-1 flying-bomb-style weapon that never left the drawing board, the track found use after the war as a test area for V-2 rockets captured from Nazi Germany in Operation Paperclip.

The YF-22A was selected to become the Air Force's new advanced tactical fighter after a brief demonstration and validation risk reduction flight test program.

Also new are the RQ-4 Global Hawk, YAL-1 Airborne Laser, the B-52 synthetic fuel program, the C-17 Globemaster III, and many prototype unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The Wing also oversees the base's day-to-day operations and provides support for the military, federal civilian, and contract personnel assigned to Edwards AFB.

They provide the tools, talent and equipment for the core disciplines of aircraft structures, propulsion, avionics and electronic warfare evaluation of the latest weapon system technologies.

Edwards is also home to several other units from DOD, Air Force, Army, Navy, FAA, USPS and many companies that support the primary mission or the personnel stationed there.

Also painted on the dry lake beds near Dryden is the world's largest compass rose: 2,000-foot (610 m) radius, 4,000 feet (0.76 mi; 1.22 km) in diameter.