"Purdue taught me how to think and how to solve problems. That may sound simplistic, but the building block approach to a Purdue engineering education equips graduates with an uncommon ability to get to the root of a problem and solve it within challenging constraints.”
Brigadier General Christopher P. Azzano is the Commander, Air Force Test Center, headquartered at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He directs a $31 billion enterprise of more than 18,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel across Edwards AFB, Eglin AFB and Arnold AFB. The AFTC provides developmental test and evaluation of experimental and research, manned and unmanned air, space and cyber systems for the military services, DARPA, NASA and international partners, in addition to operating the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.
General Azzano has flown more than 2,900 hours in 35 aircraft types as an instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, and experimental test pilot. He has conducted developmental tests on a wide range of aircraft and weapons, and has commanded at the squadron, group, and twice at the wing level.
He was previously assigned as the Director, Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In this position, he was responsible for shaping the workforce and infrastructure to test, field and sustain agile war-winning capabilities. He also developed the command’s test, readiness, and information technology policy, while providing oversight of cyber resilience requirements, cross-domain system integration, and resource allocation for flight management, airfield and weather services, and command and control operations.
General Azzano is a graduate of the Air Force Intern Program, the Air Force Legislative Fellowship, and the Air War College. He received his bachelor’s from Purdue in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in 1987 and holds master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and strategic studies.