Editing Edwards Air Force Base (section)

===Into the 1990s===
[[File:YF-22 and YF-23.jpg|thumb|Prototype YF-22 and YF-23 fighters, 1991]]
[[File:F-22 CRIIS Edwards.png|thumb|An F-22 Raptor assigned to the 411th Flight Test Squadron flies over Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 2018.]]
The end of the Cold War was marked by the arrival of the [[YF-22A]] and the [[YF-23A]]. The two prototype fighters were the first airplanes to blend stealth with agility and high-speed, supersonic cruise capability. 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. Now named the Raptor, the [[F-22A]] continues to undergo test and evaluation at Edwards.<ref name="HIST"/>

A new group of research projects came to Edwards in the 1990s. [[Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk|Global Hawk]], an unmanned aerial vehicle that has been used extensively in Afghanistan and Iraq, made its first flight at Edwards in February 1998. The X-24, X-33, X-34, X-36 and X-38, a series of new lifting bodies, technology demonstrators and half-scale models were tested here by NASA during the decade.<ref name="HIST"/>

[[File:Northrop Grumman Block 20 RQ-4B Global Hawk 05-2023.jpg|thumb|452d Flight Test Squadron Northrop Grumman Block 20 RQ-4B Global Hawk (''05-2023'') being serviced at Edwards AFB]]

The new millennium brought new projects with worldwide impact. The X-35A and X-32A, competing models for the Joint Strike Fighter program, made their first flights in September and October 2000. The X-35A won the competition in 2001 and will eventually be built in various versions for America's flying armed services and for foreign air forces as well. Also new are the [[RQ-4 Global Hawk]], [[Boeing YAL-1|YAL-1 Airborne Laser]], [[B-52 Stratofortress#Fuel research platform|the B-52 synthetic fuel program]], the [[C-17 Globemaster III]], and many prototype [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s (UAVs).<ref name="HIST" />

Edwards is among the few U.S. military bases to have gained jobs since the Cold War. Under the DoD's [[Base Realignment and Closure]] process, several smaller bases have been decommissioned, and their facilities and responsibilities have been sent to Edwards, [[China Lake]], and other large bases.

During 2012, the 95th Air Base Wing, the former base support unit at Edwards was inactivated and consolidated into the 412th Test Wing as part of the Air Force Flight Test Center transitioning into the Air Force Test Center. The five-Center consolidation not only better integrates the workforce but saves taxpayers approximately $109 million annually.<ref>[https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/story/id/123308673/ Col. Arwood assumes command of 95th Air Base Wing] </ref>