Yuma Proving Ground, U.S. Army
YUMA
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) traces its history back to World War II with the Desert Training Center, where troops trained for combat in North Africa, and the Yuma Test Branch, a site for testing combat bridge designs.
Today, at 1,300 square miles YPG is one of the largest military installations in the world, which makes it capable of conducting developmental testing of nearly everything in the Army’s ground combat arsenal. It is also Yuma County’s largest single civilian employer, with a workforce of about 2,500 employees.
A part of the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), YPG’s mission is to conduct tests on medium and long range artillery, aircraft armament and sensor systems, cargo and personnel airdrop systems, unmanned aircraft, armored vehicles and automotive equipment, and much more. It is at the forefront of current Army modernization efforts. In 2020 and 2021, Yuma Proving Ground hosted Project Convergence, the Army’s largest capabilities demonstration in the past 15 years. Testing at Yuma Proving Ground actively supports six of the Army Futures Command’s eight ‘cross-functional teams’ building the Army’s future force.
On the non-military side, a hot-weather test track was opened at YPG in 2009 through a joint-use lease agreement with General Motors. YPG testing has supported NASA throughout most of the history of the United States space program. Multiple private industry customers have also utilized YPG over the years.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
$1.12 billion | 8,089 jobs
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