EPNER was established in 1946 at the French flight test centre in Brétigny-sur-Orge, to train specialist crews involved in test flying.
Based on Istres since 1962, EPNER is a division of the CEV reporting directly to the Direction des Centres d'expertise et d'Essais (DCE) under the control of the procurement agency of the French Ministry of Defense, the DGA (Direction générale de l'armement).