Texas A&M RELLIS Campus to Become Central Testing Hub

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents onThursday authorized the construction of a $130-million combat developmentcomplex at the A&M System’s RELLIS Campus in Bryan.

The complex will include a one-of-a-kind, kilometer-longtunnel that will make Texas A&M Engineering “the hypersonics researchcapital of the country,” said M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean ofEngineering.

At the RELLIS Campus, Gen. John Murray, commanding general for the Army Futures Command, said the Army Futures Command would develop, test and evaluate next-generation technologies from the private sector and universities around the country.

The Texas A&M System will build a $50-million buildingwith laboratories, accelerator space and offices for the Army Futures Commandon the RELLIS campus, plus invest another $30 million in infrastructureimprovements to support the new facility.

The Texas Legislature also appropriated $50 million toestablish an innovative proving ground, which the Texas A&M EngineeringExperiment Station (TEES) will implement as an outdoor testing area at RELLISfor designing, analyzing and validating new technologies in challengingenvironments. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker Dennis Bonnenchampioned the $50 million to be included in the state appropriations bill forthe proving ground.

“This innovative new complex strengthens Texas’ partnershipwith the United States Military and further establishes our state as a hub foremerging technology,” said Governor Abbott. “The state of Texas will continueto work with the Texas A&M System and the Army Futures Command to modernizeour defense and keep our Armed Forces at the forefront of technologicaladvancement.”

The Army Futures Command, headquartered in Austin, is drawingon research from universities around the country and the private sector tomodernize the U.S. Army, but the new facility at RELLIS will be the central hubwhere the newest and most innovative ideas are tested and evaluated – often bysoldiers from nearby Fort Hood or members of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.

The aim is to shorten the time it takes to get emergingtechnologies from the lab to the field and maximize technology capabilitiesthrough soldier feedback. A team of Army and Texas A&M System researcherswill quickly evaluate prototypes that can be tested by soldiers in a real-worldenvironment using a vast array of sensors and instruments at RELLIS.

Not only is the RELLIS Campus close enough to the ArmyFutures Command headquarters and Fort Hood for ideal oversight, it is also nearTexas A&M University’s College of Engineering and Disaster City, theworld’s largest search and rescue training facility that can double as atraining site for urban warfare.

Although the combat development complex isn’t expected to becompleted until June 2021, Vice Chancellor Banks said the hiring of additionalengineers will begin immediately.

Three years ago, RELLIS didn’t even exist.

In May 2016, Chancellor John Sharp announced the creation ofRELLIS – named for Texas A&M’s core values of Respect, Excellence,Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity and Selfless Service. He began the building boomto redevelop the 2,000-acre property with an initial investment of $300million. Today the campus is home to the Texas A&M System’s transportationand engineering agencies as well as an education complex served by BlinnCollege and Texas A&M System universities from around the state.

More growth is coming, and more construction is planned,including a state-of-the-art data center.

The arrival of the Army Futures Command will bring theRELLIS site full circle, back to the location’s June 6, 1943 opening as theBryan Army Air Field. It also takes RELLIS to another level as companiesinterested in working with the Army Futures Command are expected to locate onor near the campus.