Open air range test facilities are used to evaluate EW systems in background, clutter, noise and dynamic environments. Typically these resources are divided into sub-categories of test ranges and airborne testbeds.
     Open Air Range testing includes the subcategories of ground test, test track, and flight test. The primary purpose of open air testing is to evaluate the system under real-world representative environment and operating conditions. Open air range testing is used to validate system operational performance/effectiveness at a high level of confidence.
     If properly structured, flight testing can also be used to validate/calibrate ground test facilities and models. EW components, subsystems, systems, and entire avionic suites can be installed in either a ground or airborne testbed or in the intended operational platform and tested on open air ranges.

     Real-world phenomena encountered during open air range testing include terrain effects, multi-path propagation, and electromagnetic interference from commercial systems (television and radio broadcasts, micro-wave transmissions, etc.). Flight test ranges also offer the capability to conduct tests using captive carried and live-fired missiles.
     Airborne testbeds range from small aircraft with pod-mounted components or systems to large aircraft designed for spread-bench installation and testing of EW and avionic systems. They permit the flight testing of EW components, subsystems, systems, or functions of avionic suites in early development and modification, often before the availability of prototype or production hardware. For a quick list of Air Force Flight Test Center OAR assets, click here.