Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) started its journey as Armament Testing Unit (ATU) in Kanpur in 1948. In 1957, it was formally raised as Aircraft and Armament Testing Unit (A&ATU) at Kanpur. On 23 August 1972, it was renamed as ASTE and moved to Bangalore in 1973 into the make shift hangars of HAL. As its name implies, ASTE evaluates aircraft and systems for induction into user organisations. Most new aircraft types and major airborne systems must have ASTE's stamp of approval to be considered fit for service in India. While many countries have testing facilities of one kind or the other, training of flight test personnel is not often imparted in them. ASTE's Air Force Test Pilots School (AFTPS) is only the fifth such institution in the world. This is not surprising for the world's fourth largest air force. The combination of flight testing and training makes ASTE Indian Air Force's mini-Edward's Air Force Base (USA) or Boscombe Down (UK)