The CHIMERA fusion technology test facility is currently under construction at the UK Atomic Energy Authority site in South Yorkshire, UK. With the completion of the engineering design, including the design of a component mock-up to be used in full system commissioning, this paper presents in detail the features and capabilities of the CHIMERA facility by using an example of a full test lifecycle. The facility will be uniquely capable of ‘semi-integral’ testing of fusion materials and component modules up to the size of the ITER test blanket module (TBM) box, under combined conditions of in-vacuo high heat flux, static and pulsed magnetic fields, and high temperature/pressure water cooling. Testing is augmented with ‘virtual testing’ by use of a component ‘digital twin’. The first step in testing of a component module is to take data from as-built geometry and other measurements and transmit them to an integrated computational simulation which can mimic the physical asset and form a digital twin. This digital twin can not only be queried in advance of physical testing in the facility, allowing optimisation of the test programme, but combined with subsequent test data it can deliver much greater insight into experimental results than can be obtained using test data alone. Such a digital twin is expected to be a key facet in component qualification for fusion. The physical component for testing is prepared in a dedicated work frame and stillage in the facility, which can apply mechanical loads as preparatory testing ‘offline’ of CHIMERA itself. When ready the component is loaded into CHIMERA via the top lid of the device. Mock-ups can be subjected to in-vacuum heat flux up to 0.5 MW/m² over the entire surface while within a strong horizontal magnetic field. The central field can be up to 4 Tesla, and a high field gradient leads to large static forces up to 160 kN. The same component mock-ups can also be subjected to repeated magnetic field pulses with ramp rate 12 T/s, which can simulate loading conditions of a plasma disruption. With construction of the facility underway, construction status is presented along with a summary of completed or ongoing development programmes for the large scale surface heaters and mock-up instrumentation. Finally, in order to fully realise the original vision for CHIMERA, it is planned to upgrade the facility to include a liquid metal circulation loop to allow the study of magnetohydrodynamic effects, and to add a high heat flux system using a high-power continuous wave laser to achieve divertor-relevant heat fluxes over the area of a small-scale mock-up. The large superconducting magnet and high temperature water loop make CHIMERA uniquely placed for experiments on water-cooled lithium lead (WCLL) blanket technology. The conceptual designs for these system upgrades are overviewed.