JUNE 16, 2026 – The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) graduated its Class 168 during a ceremony near Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland on June 12.
Retired Navy Capt. Reid Wiseman, a USNTPS graduate who serves as a NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission commander, delivered the graduation ceremony’s keynote address.
“When NASA wants to do something for the first time, they pick [test pilots] because [USNTPS] does risky things in the safest possible way,” said Wiseman. “As graduates of USNTPS, you are entering careers that will ask enormous things of you – it’s time to go and be ready because it takes courage and determination, and it is awesome.”
Thirty-four students completed the intense 11-month course of instruction and earned their designations as USNTPS graduates. Graduates included members of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force, as well as the Royal Canadian, Italian, and Israeli Air Forces, German Armed Forces, and the Royal Navy.
“I’ve watched your class weather the storms and get stronger from it through the bonds you’ve built as a team – I truly believe you arrived here as a class,” said USNTPS Commander Cmdr. Jacob King. “Thank you for your blood, sweat, and tears – and congratulations.”
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Nicholas DeLuca earned USNTPS’ Capt. Willie McCool Outstanding Student Award, which recognizes the student who most embodies the ethos of developmental flight testers and demonstrates mastery of the curriculum across academics, flight execution, and technical communication.
Maj. Nicholas DeLuca also earned the Sydney Sherby Leadership Award, named after the school’s founder Capt. Sydney Sherby, which recognizes the student who displays exemplary leadership through the duration of the class.
Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Robert Colpitts earned the Empire Test Pilots’ School’s Developmental Testing Thesis Award, which recognizes exceptional performance during the course’s capstone exercise. The prestigious award symbolizes the longstanding partnership between the United Kingdom’s and United States’ test pilot schools.
For decades, USNTPS has produced the nation’s pioneers in flight and space exploration from NASA astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn to the crews of both the first and last space shuttle missions, as well as Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.
USNTPS trains pilots, flight officers, and engineers for developmental test and evaluation of aircraft and airborne systems. USNTPS is a component of Naval Test Wing Atlantic under Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) in Patuxent River, Maryland. NAWCAD advances capability and operational readiness for naval aviation.
Story by NAWCAD Visual Information
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division