MAY 8, 2025 – The Air Force Test Center’s Plans and Programs Directorate, known as XP, plays a quiet but powerful role in ensuring AFTC remains on the cutting edge of aerospace testing and evaluation.
This small, focused team drives strategic planning and advocacy across the enterprise. By collaborating with Air Force Materiel Command, Air Combat Command, and Headquarters Air Force, XP has helped secure more than $2 billion and five aircraft for AFTC’s portfolio.
“The success of this small team stems from highlighting the daily impact of the men and women of AFTC,” said Michael Banzet, plans and programs director. “Whether they’re on the flight line, in wind tunnels, on test ranges or in the cyber domain, they are the true drivers of combat lethality.”
When an Air Force-wide decision threatened reductions in F-15s and manpower, XP mobilized quickly. The team worked with AFTC leaders and key commands to demonstrate how the 96th Test Wing’s role in developmental testing at Eglin Air Force Base would be compromised.
XP underscored how AFTC’s manpower model differs from standard Air Force structures. Support from ACC, along with examples like Staff Sgt. Jarret Janak—who enabled a successful prototype test at Nellis Air Force Base—helped reverse the proposed reductions. The F-15E fleet was ultimately restructured to better support test and evaluation needs.
On the West Coast, Staff Sgt. Ian Pierce’s leadership on the 412th Test Wing’s F-22 flight line helped XP demonstrate the real-world consequences of aviation cuts. After reviewing XP’s analysis, the director of the Test Resource Management Center informed the Air Force that its budget would not be certified unless the proposed cuts were reversed. They were.
Infrastructure has also been a key focus. Upon arriving at XP, Banzet identified facility shortfalls and partnered with AFMC and the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center to investigate. Lorna Arola, XP analyst, led a review revealing that AFTC’s critical test facilities were receiving a small percentage of their plant replacement value in maintenance funding—far below Air Force standard.
Arola and a cross-functional team reclassified more than 700 real property items, aligning data with actual facility use and mission need. The result: hundreds of millions of dollars in reprogrammed funds have since flowed into test infrastructure, aircraft maintenance and hypersonic operations—funding that remains protected despite its temporary nature.
XP also overhauled the Program Objective Memorandum process, which shapes a decade of capabilities. By creating the AFTC Resource Guide, refined through more than 600 stakeholder comments, XP streamlined planning and coordination across the enterprise.
Looking forward, XP remains committed to strengthening partnerships, leveraging data, and clearly communicating the resources needed to support combat lethality.
“There are unsung heroes on every ramp from California to Florida,” said Banzet, a former F-4, F-16 and F-117 crew chief and pilot. “Nothing in my career compares to the impact of today’s test sorties.”
XP’s strategic vision and relentless collaboration ensure AFTC remains a driving force behind the future of American airpower.
Story by Master Sgt. Tabatha Arellano
Air Force Test Center