PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) held a graduation ceremony for Class 165 on Dec. 13. Thirty-one students successfully completed the intense, 11-month course of instruction and received their designations as Engineering Test Pilots, Engineering Test Flight Officers and Test Project Engineer.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, both retired U.S. Navy captains, with a guest appearance by NASA Astronaut and U.S. Space Force Col. Nick Hague, delivered the keynote address in a recording sent from the International Space Station (ISS), preceded by a special address from USNTPS alumnus Commodore Chris Smallhorn, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Commander Fleet Air Arm.

Williams graduated in 1993 from USNTPS with Class 104 and returned as a Rotary Wing Department instructor in 1995. So far, she has spent a cumulative total of over 510 days in space and currently commands Expedition 72 on the ISS.

Wilmore graduated from USNTPS in 1992 with Class 102 and also served on staff as a systems and fixed-wing flight test instructor. He is a veteran of two spaceflights and has spent a cumulative total of over 370 days in space

Both Williams and Wilmore have been in space since June 5, 2024, on their most recent mission. They are currently living and working aboard the space station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew and will return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Smallhorn joined USNTPS Class 115 and graduated in 1999. He has served as Commander Fleet Air Arm in the RAN since January 2016.

The graduation ceremony took place at the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department in Lexington Park, Maryland. Graduates included members of the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Israeli Air Force, Italian Navy, French Defense Procurement and Technology Agency, Norwegian Defense Material Agency, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

Capt. Elizabeth Somerville, Commander, Naval Test Wing Atlantic; Cmdr. Travis Hartman, U.S. Navy, Commanding Officer, USNTPS; and Dr. John Tritschler, Chief of Academics, USNTPS, presented diplomas and offered congratulations to the new testers.

Army Capt. Kenneth Dailey received the Empire Test Pilots School’s Developmental Testing Thesis Award, recognizing his exceptional performance during the capstone exercise in Class 165. This prestigious award symbolizes the strong, longstanding partnership between the Empire Test Pilots’ School in the United Kingdom and USNTPS.

Lt. Cmdr. Zachary Daniel received the Captain Willie McCool Outstanding Student Award for the top performing student in the categories of academics, flight performance and technical report writing. He was also recognized with the Developmental Testing Thesis Award for the best final capstone report.

Army Lt. Col. Mark Salvati received the Syd Sherby Leadership Award, named after Capt. Sydney Sherby, the founder of the test pilot training division, now USNTPS. The award recognizes the student who displays exemplary leadership in the class.

Nineteen students completed the requirements for the engineering test pilot course, seven students completed the engineering test flight officer course, and five students fulfilled the requirements for the test project engineer course.

USNTPS trains pilots and engineers for development test and evaluation of aircraft and aircraft 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.

For more information about NAWCAD, please go to www.navair.navy.mil or follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MyNAWCAD/.