The purpose of this paper will be to assess the ability of the Air Force to pursue the technologies needed for the future Air Force. This study will examine the growth of the Air Force Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDTE) infrastructure from the late 1940s to the 1990s in light of the two major scientific studies - Toward New Horizons and New World Vistas. The Air Force executed Toward New Horizons by developing and infrastructure (people, facilities and investments) to pursue the technologies in current Air Force systems. New World Vistas has proposed a vision for the future facing a different infrastructure paradigm. The Air Force has committed to downsizing the RDTE infrastructure that made Toward New Horizons a reality. Conclusions and recommendations will be drawn from looking at how the Air Force executed Toward New Horizons and developed critical technology for current systems in relation to the vision of New World Vistas and the programmed and proposed reductions in the RDTE infrastructure that will have to execute that vision.