Naval Air Warfare Center

Weapons Division

China Lake and Point Mugu

California

NAWCWD TS 10-102

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 1

Naval Air Systems Command

Sailors and Marines Armed with Confidence...

Because we develop, deliver, and sustain aircraft, weapons, and systems—on time, on cost, with 

proven capability and reliability—so they succeed in every mission and return safely home.
 2 | Arming the Fleet

I cannot think of a prouder statement when asked what our occupation may be 

than to say ‘I serve the United States of America.’

—John F. Kennedy, President of the United States
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 3

Table of Contents

NAVAIR Overview ........................................................................................................................................4

NAWCWD Vision, Mission, and Goals.........................................................................................................5

NAWCWD Firsts...........................................................................................................................................6

NAWCWD, How It All Began.......................................................................................................................8

Teamwork ....................................................................................................................................................12

Ranges..........................................................................................................................................................15

Laboratories and Facilities...........................................................................................................................19

War on Terror...............................................................................................................................................29

Weapons.......................................................................................................................................................33

Unmanned Systems (UxS)...........................................................................................................................45

Research and Engineering............................................................................................................................51

Energy Strategy............................................................................................................................................71
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The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) delivers weapon 

systems to Sailors and Marines for Navy and Marine Corps missions. 

Products and services include fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, 

avionics, air- and surface-launched weapons, electronic warfare 

(EW) systems, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 

launch and arresting gear, and training systems. 

NAVAIR encompasses eight sites across the country. The Aircraft 

Division has sites at Patuxent River, Maryland; Lakehurst, New 

Jersey; and Orlando, Florida. NAVAIR depots are located at 

North Island, California; Jacksonville, Florida; and Cherry Point, 

North Carolina. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division 

(NAWCWD) includes sites at China Lake and Point Mugu, 

California. The entire NAVAIR organization has made significant 

contributions to the Fleet by providing total life-cycle support: 

research, design, development, and engineering; acquisition; test 

and evaluation (T&E); repair and modification; and in-service 

engineering and logistics support. 

Many NAVAIR publications have documented significant 

contributions to the Fleet in support of naval aviation and warfighter 

requirements. This document, produced by NAWCWD, focuses 

specifically on the weapons and systems research, development, 

test, and evaluation (RDT&E) contributions made at China Lake 

and Point Mugu since 1943. During every U.S. military crisis since 

World War II, RDT&E efforts at China Lake and Point Mugu have 

played a significant role—developing and testing weapons and 

systems that work.

NAVAIR Overview
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 5

NAWCWD Vision, 

Mission, and Goals

The NAWCWD Vision is to be the leader providing innovative, integrated, and dominant warfighting 

effects for our naval, joint, and coalition forces. The NAWCWD Mission is to execute full-spectrum 

weapons and warfare systems research, development, acquisition, test, and evaluation (RDAT&E). 

The Mission is enabled through recruiting, developing, and retaining a relevant, qualified workforce; 

developing, maintaining, and operating unique cross-domain land, air, and sea ranges and laboratory 

capabilities; and partnering with industry, academia, Department of Defense (DoD), and the 

international community. In the performance of the Mission, stewardship of natural resources and the 

environment is a paramount duty.

NAWCWD is fully engaged in the execution and support of work across the breadth of RDAT&E. A 

major goal is to provide naval, joint, and coalition partners with products and services on time and 

on budget. The Command supports a wide variety of customers and provides substantial resources to 

continue developing, delivering, and sustaining affordable, quality products and services. 

Pursuit of key technology-driven emerging capabilities is another major goal. Technology, innovation, 

research, and development are the cornerstones that allow NAWCWD to rapidly counter evolving 

threats with novel warfighter capabilities. Substantial investment and involvement in independent 

and applied research and core science and technology networks keep NAWCWD at the forefront of 

relevant technologies and its application to the Mission. 
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NAWCWD “Firsts”

NAWCWD provides direct Fleet support 

for naval aviation and is recognized for 

a number of significant firsts. NAWCWD 

has extensive experience in developing, 

perfecting, and testing military components and 

subsystems that also have direct application to 

space missions. Although work for other government 

agencies represents only a very small fraction of the 

total workload, NAWCWD is occasionally called upon 

by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(NASA) to lend expertise to projects of national 

importance. Lessons learned from joint projects 

help NAWCWD find solutions to naval aviation 

problems. China Lake and Point Mugu are 

recognized for several space-related and earlier 

undersea firsts.
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 7

NAWCWD—Making History

Weapons Firsts...

• Fire-and-forget guided missile under 

6 pounds—Spike

• Air-to-air guided missile used in 

combat—Sidewinder

• Successful anti-radiation missile (ARM)—Shrike

• Air-to-surface precision-guided missile—Walleye

• Fire-and-forget precision-guided imaging infrared 

(IR) 2.75-inch rocket—Low-Cost Guided Imaging 

Rocket (LOGIR)

• Low collateral damage precision-guided munition 

(PGM) warhead, 85% less explosive, same mass 

properties—Low Collateral Damage Bomb 

(LCDB, also known as LOCO)

• Feasibility studies, concept development, and early 

testing—Polaris missile

• Nonnuclear components and testing—atomic 

bomb

• Plastic-bonded explosives

• U.S. aircraft rockets

• “No-smoke” missiles

• Controlled fragmentation Pearson Notch, still 

the standard method for warhead case controlled 

fragmentation

• Metal augmentation charge (MAC) enhanced 

thermobaric warhead—Hellfire AGM-114N

• U.S. Navy’s premier hard target penetration 

weapon—BLU-116/B

• Cast ductile iron warheads—a family of Mk 80 

series weapons 

• Cast iron weapon store qualified for flight on Air 

Force and Navy aircraft

• Heavy-wall practice bomb

Technology Firsts...

• Chemiluminescent light sticks

• Stop-action video

• Automatic air bag sensors

• Ground-based passive IR system to track and 

autonomously declare antiaircraft missiles, 

thus allowing time to employ precision 

countermeasures—distributed ground-based threat 

detection system (DGTDS) 

• Radar for automatic discrimination of submarine 

periscopes in high-clutter environments with 

low probability of false alarms—automatic radar 

periscope detection and discrimination (ARPDD)

• Reprogrammable self-protection jammer

• Real-time night display of targets

• Real-time X-ray video system to see inside a 

rocket motor while being fired

• Subject search made by a digital computer

• Body-scanning technology—logarithmic 

amplifiers

• Active optical and proximity fuze technologies

Testing Firsts...

• Unmanned aircraft to release a Global Positioning 

System (GPS)-guided weapon

• Pegasus X-47A and Fire Scout RQ-8 UAV flights

• Hellfire missile launch from Sky Warrior UAV

• UAV search and rescue support with Predator B

• Tactical Tomahawk launch with live warhead; first 

launch from a British submarine

• Standard Missile-3 sea-based ballistic missile 

intercept

• Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) firing

• Air-to-air “six-on-six” (missiles launched/targets 

killed)—Phoenix

• Plane and crew to land at the South Pole—VXE-6

• U.S. kill of an airborne target by an air-to-air 

guided missile—Sparrow

• Contact hit against an airborne target by a surfaceto-air guided missile—Lark

Space and Undersea Firsts...

• Lunar lander and Mars lander subsystems

• U.S. satellite launch—NOTSNIK

• Antisatellite weapons demonstration

• Technology allowing images from space to be sent 

back to Earth

• U.S. manned submersible to descend 2,000 feet—

Deep Jeep
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NAWCWD, How It All Began

Before China Lake and Point Mugu merged to form NAWCWD, they were separate naval 

installations, each with its own storied history and reputation.

In the midst of World War II, the Navy established China Lake as the Naval Ordnance Test 

Station (NOTS) for testing and evaluating rockets being developed by the California Institute of 

Technology (Caltech). The facility is located 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the remote 

western edge of California’s Mojave Desert. The formal mission statement for NOTS in 1943 

identified “research, development, and test of weapons” as the Station’s primary purpose, which 

remains its mission today. The first weapons included rockets, such as Mighty Mouse and Zuni, 

and, because of its remote location, China Lake was also part of the team developing the first 

atomic weapons. 

Also, in 1946, the naval presence at Point Mugu began when Seabees from Port Hueneme put 

down a Marsden mat runway as the first airstrip in that area. The Navy recognized the importance 

of a large sea range for T&E functions only 65 miles northwest of Los Angeles, so Point Mugu 

became the Naval Air Missile Test Center (NAMTC). The NAMTC, which was the U.S. Navy’s 

first instrumented missile test sea range, developed and tested missiles and drones, including the 

Gorgon, Gargoyle, Lark, and Little Joe.

After World War II, both NOTS and NAMTC excelled in their support of the Warfighter. Scientists 

and engineers at both locations continued to develop new and innovative weapons. One example 

is the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile, which originated at China Lake and became the 

world’s most used and most copied air-to-air missile.

As the bases added new weapons and technologies to their list of accomplishments, they also 

continued to evolve as naval installations. For example, in 1958, the Pacific Missile Range (PMR) 
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 9

at Point Mugu was established. By 1959, NAMTC was renamed the Naval Missile Center (NMC). 

In 1971, Point Mugu, which was already home to the F-14 Tomcat System Integration Test 

Station, became host to the Software Support Activity for the Tomcat. Four years later, because 

the sea ranges were test locations for such weapons as the Harpoon, Tomahawk, Trident, and 

Standard Missile, the Navy merged the PMR and the NMC into the Pacific Missile Test Center 

(PMTC). China Lake was also evolving with its warfighter contributions and growing reputation 

of excellence. By 1967, it was combined with the Naval Ordnance Laboratory at Corona to form 

the newly created Naval Weapons Center (NWC). In 1979, the National Parachute Test Range at 

El Centro, California, merged with NWC, further increasing NWC’s functionality.

The Navy then continued its efforts to streamline naval functions and consolidate duplicated 

tasking and research, as well as to broaden the communication between RDT&E facilities. To 

this end, by 1992, the PMTC, NWC China Lake, and the NAVAIR units at White Sands and 

Albuquerque, New Mexico, had merged to form NAWCWD. In 2001, the White Sands detachment 

was transferred to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). NAWCWD is headquartered at 

China Lake and is a tenant of the Navy Region Southwest, which includes several military bases 

on the West Coast, such as San Diego; Point Loma; and the Naval Air Station (NAS), Fallon, 

Nevada.

NAWCWD became one of the largest and most diverse test ranges in the world, with a wide 

variety of features—mountains, ocean, deep-water ports, protected islands, deserts, canyons, 

and forests—all close to one another and all highly instrumented. NAWCWD is a billion-dollarper-year operation, with more than 6,500 employees and 40 major facilities, many of which are 

not duplicated anywhere else in the world. The installation hosts thousands of official visitors 

annually, ranging from joint services, allies, and official delegates.

As the Warfighter moves into the future, NAWCWD is leading the way by continuing to develop 

state-of-the-art weapons and technologies. With its new laboratories and facilities, which will 

provide new and exciting capabilities, NAWCWD has an exceedingly bright future, will continue 

to grow significantly, and will remain the U.S. military’s leading RDT&E facility far into the 

future.
China Lake and Point Mugu Designated

as Historical Aerospace Sites

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For more than 75 years, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has been the 

principal technical society devoted to continuing contributions and global leadership in the aerospace 

profession. The institute has more than 35,000 members, both professionals and students, and conducts 

many national technical conferences each year and publishes many textbooks, technical journals, and 

short courses annually. The AIAA Board of Directors established the historic Aerospace Sites Committee 

in 1999 to recognize and preserve significant contributions made in both aeronautics and astronautics 

to culture and technology. Advances and discoveries in the aerospace field have significantly affected 

the lives of people the world over.

AIAA Point Mugu Historic Aerospace Site

On November 14, 2003, the Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu was formally named an AIAA 

historic site. The citation reads as follows: 

Established in 1946 to provide a comprehensive test and evaluation site for tactical 

missiles, Point Mugu has been instrumental in the development, test, evaluation, and 

in-service support of systems including Regulus, Sparrow, Phoenix, Bullpup, Harpoon, 

SLAM, Tomahawk, Standard, and Rolling Airframe Missile. The first missile launch 

from an operational submarine was also accomplished at Point Mugu.

The institute designation placed this installation in the company of 20 other historic spots, including 

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; Dutch Flats, the San Diego airport where Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit 

of St. Louis was tested; the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), home of 

legendary test pilots and fledgling astronauts; and the Pasadena plant site where scientists for Aerojet 

Engineering invented rocket fuel in the 1940s.
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 11

AIAA China Lake Historic Aerospace Site

In 2006, China Lake was also chosen an AIAA Historic Aerospace Site, along with the NASA Johnson 

Space Center, Houston, Texas. The bronze plaque was unveiled by Rear Admiral Walter Skinner at a 

formal public dedication held at the U.S. Naval Museum of Armament and Technology. The citation 

reads as follows:

China Lake is one of the nation’s premiere weapons laboratories. Established in 1943, 

China Lake supports naval aviation and warfighter requirements and will continue to 

arm the Fleet into the future. The Station conceived and developed rockets during WWII; 

nonnuclear components for the first atomic bomb; Sidewinder, Shrike, and Walleye 

missiles; and the Polaris concept. China Lake developed NOTSNIK in 1958 and vital 

components for the Mars lander in 2004. The Station, a world leader in aircraft–weapons 

integration, testing, and electronic warfare, developed 75% of the air-launched weapons 

used during Vietnam and jointly developed 80% of those used during Iraqi Freedom.

As part of the ceremonies, the U.S. Naval Museum of Armament and Technology restored and unveiled 

two new exhibits, including the Mk IV Fleet version of the Fat Man and the Caleb, the follow-on to 

NOTSNIK, part of China Lake’s early satellite program.
 12 | Arming the Fleet

Teamwork

Teamwork is the cornerstone of NAVAIR’s success. Every test event, training mission, and 

laboratory experiment at China Lake and Point Mugu is a team effort. Throughout NAWCWD, 

more than 4,000 federal employees combine with more than 1,700 defense contractors and 

200 military service men and women to form a cohesive team to support the NAVAIR mission. This 

teamwork binds together the network of highly trained scientific, technical, and administrative 

personnel.

Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E)

VX–30 (the “Bloodhounds” at Point Mugu) and VX–31 (the “Dust Devils” at China Lake) 

operate under the command of the Naval Test Wing Pacific (NTWP), which reports to the 

Commander, NAWCWD. Both squadrons provide aircraft, aviators, and 

aircrew to support the RDAT&E mission on NAWCWD’s Air, Sea, and 

Land Ranges. Test pilots and flight engineers push the envelope to 

establish technical limits for effective weapon integration of active 

naval air platforms. NTWP’s inventory of 58 aircraft include the 

F/A‐18A-F Hornet, EA-18G Growler, AV-8B Harrier, AH-1W/Z 

Cobra attack helicopter, UH-1 Huey, and numerous 

UAVs. Additional aircraft include the P-3 Orion, 

C-130 Hercules, and T-39 Saberliner. NTWP’s 

278 military and civilian employees, 

along with 400 aircraft maintenance 

contractors, allow squadron pilots to 

log more than 7,800 hours of testing 

and training missions annually. 

Operational Test 

and Evaluation 

(OT&E)

VX-9 (the “Vampires”) 

conducts OT&E of all air-toground weapons, air-to-air 
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 13

weapons, sensors, EW systems, and mission software upgrades to aircraft and weapon systems. 

More than 350 VX-9 personnel maintain and fly a diverse fleet of approximately 20 aircraft 

used in the demanding and dynamic role of operational flight test in support of both Navy and 

Marine Corps tactical aviation. VX-9 currently operates and tests the FA‐18E/F Super Hornet, 

F/A‐18A-D Hornet, AV‐8B Harrier, EA‐18G Growler, and EA-6B, as well as the AH‐1W/Z Cobra 

and UH-1Y helicopters. The squadron logs more than 3,800 flight hours annually and is a tenant 

of the Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) at China Lake. 

Marine Aviation Detachment (MAD)

MAD provides project management, aviation support, and technical expertise for assigned 

Marine Corps weapon systems and subsystems, as well as mission planning at both China Lake 

and Point Mugu. Although the detachment’s headquarters were established in 1987, Marines 

have been stationed at China Lake since 1943. Today, Marines are actively working on aircraft 

enhancements to bring new capabilities to the front lines. MAD supports multiple RDT&E 

missions with VX-31 and OT&E at VX-9. The MAD operates under the command of the Aviation 

Department, Headquarters, Marine Corps. 

Joint Services

Teamwork at NAWCWD is not only internal to the Navy but also reaches across service 

boundaries to the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Department of Homeland 

Security. NAVAIR is at the forefront of joint service activity—joint training, joint testing, joint 

experimentation, joint research, joint development, and joint acquisition.

China Lake and Point Mugu conduct numerous joint service collaborations, such as the Warfare 

Response Network and the Homeland Defense Response Team. In addition, the NAWCWD Land 

Ranges, Sea Range, and Electronic Combat Range (ECR) have hosted virtually every combatant 

aircraft in the DoD inventory, including Air Force fighters and bombers; Army helicopters; 

developmental aircraft, such as the F-22 and the F-35; and joint service UAVs.
 14 | Arming the Fleet

In addition, Special Operations Forces units have roamed the desert ranges of China Lake, and 

Marine light armored vehicles have raced across the dry lake beds during live fire exercises. 

The ranges and laboratories have played principal roles in the United States’ largest joint service 

battle experiments, and Point Mugu was selected as the site of the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s 

(USJFCOM’s) Regional Joint National Training Center.

International Services

The United States’ international allies benefit from the same principles of teamwork. The first 

Tomahawk firing from a British submarine, for example, took place on the NAWCWD Sea Range. 

The Japanese Defense Force conducts annual training and missile development exercises on the 

Sea Range also. The Italian Air Force trains with the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) 

on the NAWCWD Land Ranges; the Royal Danish Navy has participated in Evolved SeaSparrow 

Missile (ESSM) launches on the ranges as well. Many allied countries send representatives to 

the F/A-18 Advanced Weapons Laboratory (AWL), where NAWCWD provides its expertise in 

system integration. Several allies have permanent facilities located on NAWCWD, although their 

access to the ranges and laboratories is restricted and closely monitored.

Many weapons developed by NAWCWD are later sold to U.S. allies. These foreign military sales 

(FMS) are contingent on the country being authorized to participate and its ability to provide 

appropriate funding. To maintain its strategic edge, the DoD may sell a weapon’s lower variant 

without current capabilities, if the military deems the current weapon is essential to U.S. national 

defense. NAWCWD supports FMS customers by providing range support, weapon integration, 

and training and technical support. 

National and International Forums

NAWCWD has historically played a leadership role in many professional societies. For example, 

NAWCWD representatives are on the Executive Committee of the Joint Army, Navy, NASA, and 

Air Force (JANNAF) Interagency Propulsion Committee. Other forum participation includes the 

following.

• Serves as an active participant in the AIAA.

• Serves on the Missile Sciences Committee and chaired the 2000 Missile Sciences Conference.

• Chairs sessions for the Military Sensor Symposia (MSS) on Active Systems and the MSS 

national/international conferences.

• Cochairs sessions for the National Fire Control Symposium.

• Serves on the steering committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 

Insensitive Munitions Information Center with representatives from the United Kingdom, 

Australia, and New Zealand.

• Leads various nationwide and international panels in propulsion, warheads, guidance, 

control, and fuzing.
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 15

Ranges

Overview

NAWCWD’s Land and Sea Ranges are unique DoD national assets. With mountains, deserts, canyons, 

forests, vast ocean, deep water ports, and islands, all close to one another and within restricted airspace, 

these ranges are used extensively for T&E and training. More than 1,500 test events occur each year. 

The ranges have hosted virtually every combatant aircraft in the DoD inventory, ranging from Air Force 

fighters and bombers and Army helicopters to developmental aircraft (e.g., the F-22 and Joint Strike 

Fighter [JSF] to joint service UAVs). Special Operations Forces units have roamed the desert hills of 

Superior Valley, and Marine light armored vehicles have raced across the dry flats of Airport Lake 

during live fire exercises. The ranges have played principal roles in the nation’s largest joint service 

battle experiments. Each year, allied customers, including Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, 

Switzerland, Italy, and Norway, send hundreds of troops to test weapons and train for conflict. Japan is 

one of the Sea Range’s largest customers. 

Ranges are interconnected via a unique Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved restricted 

corridor (IR-200). Long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles with inert warheads can be launched from 

the Sea Range to targets on the Land Ranges, so all operational aspects can be tested. In addition, the 

ranges enjoy great flying weather. Point Mugu has visual meteorological conditions (VMC) 85% of the 

time and China Lake has VMC 99.5% of the time—in other words, more than 350+ clear days per year. 
 16 | Arming the Fleet

Land Ranges

The Land Ranges at China Lake represent the Navy’s largest single land holding, with 52% of all 

Navy land worldwide and 85% of the Navy’s RDT&E land. The area encompasses 1.1 million acres 

of land, or 1,700 square miles, and is larger than the state of Rhode Island. The R-2508 restricted 

airspace encompasses 12% of California’s total airspace and is jointly managed by the Navy (China 

Lake), the Air Force (Edwards AFB), and the Army (Fort Irwin). The ranges support T&E for air and 

ground conventional weapons, aircraft systems, air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, rockets, bombs, 

cluster munitions, cruise missiles, unmanned air vehicles, guns and artillery, fuzes and sensors, mass 

detonation, training and tactics development, and parachute systems. 

Sea Range

The Sea Range at Point Mugu is the largest and most heavily instrumented sea and air range in the 

United States and encompasses 36,000 square miles of ocean (expandable to 196,000 square miles, 

from Big Sur south to the United States/Mexico border). The Range Operations Center is capable of 

monitoring complex full battle group fleet exercises involving aircraft, surface ships, and submarines. 

San Nicolas Island, 60 miles offshore, is used for littoral warfare training, including theater warfare 

exercises. San Nicholas Island includes launching facilities and a 10,000-foot-long runway. Point 

Mugu’s targets complex is the only facility to provide full life-cycle support for all Navy aerial and 

surface targets. The Surface Craft Division at Port Hueneme operates target boats and hulks and 

provides range surveillance and target recovery. Point Mugu’s EW capability is a core area of expertise 

and supports the electronic attack EA-6B and the new EA-18G stand-off jammer aircraft for the Navy 

and the Air Force. The latter aircraft is the only dedicated tactical EW platform in the U.S. inventory.
Ranges | 17

Environmental Stewardship

As the reader may recall, the Land Ranges encompass more than 1.1 million acres (larger than the state 

of Rhode Island) and represent more than a half of the Navy’s land worldwide. The vast majority of this 

land acts as a safety and security buffer and remains in a mostly pristine natural state. To keep it that 

way, a NAWCWD team of archeologists, ecologists, environmental engineers, and specialists under 

contract perform long-range environmental resource planning and oversee day-to-day environmental 

projects. For example, NAWCWD developed management plans for preserving endangered species 

such as the Mojave ground squirrel, the island night lizard, the desert tortoise, and the San Nicolas 

Island fox. Policies are also in place to protect birds from aircraft, pinnipeds from missile launches, 

and wild horses and burros from potential risk on runways. In addition, locations for new facilities 

and specialized test events are carefully selected to minimize impact, and virtually every missionrelated activity is scrutinized to ensure that it complies with environmental laws and regulations. For 

example, a Final Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact was released in 

2008 covering all the new state-of-the-art facilities currently under construction at NAWCWD.

China Lake also protects the valuable desert water sources under its management. To this end, China 

Lake developed a geographic-information-system-based photographic database for identifying and 

monitoring its 122 natural water sources.

On San Nicolas Island, isolation has resulted in the evolution of a unique ecosystem. The island is also 

the largest breeding site in the world for California sea lions. Annually, more than 23,000 elephant 

seals, 100,000 California sea lions, and 500 harbor seals use the island’s beaches. To protect that 

ecosystem, NAWCWD constructed a moveable open-ocean supply pier. This one-of-a-kind pier allows 

cargo to be transported to and from San Nicolas Island with the least amount of impact on that delicate 

environment.

Cultural Stewardship

In another effort to manage and protect its land, NAWCWD conducts cultural resource inventories to 

identify archaeological, historical, and traditional properties. To date, inventories have been completed 

on roughly 11,000 acres. One such property is a 100-square-mile collection of ancient rock art. This 

collection is the largest concentration of rock art in the world and is a National Registered Historic 

Landmark. In recognition for preserving this unique site, NAWCWD received the Governor’s Award 

for Historic Preservation. No other military installation has ever received this award. [44]
 18 | Arming the Fleet

The China Lake range was selected because of the vast flying space, specific simulators, and 

technical capabilities. We are grateful to this community. They have accepted us in a very 

warm way. We are flying our Tornados with the HARM at the ECR. Everyone knows that 

China Lake is the home of the HARM. China Lake, in my opinion, is the most unique range 

in the world for testing weapon systems.

—Colonel Pino Scancarello of the Italian Air Force staff
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 19

Laboratories

 and Facilities

NAWCWD has more than 40 major facilities, including three airfields, with a 

replacement value of approximately $2 billion. More than 2,000 buildings encompass 

6 million square feet. The state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities at NAWCWD have 

been key elements to its success through the years. Ranging from the historic 1948 

Michelson Laboratory to the 2010 Dr. William B. McLean Laboratory, NAWCWD 

contains the premier research and development laboratories and facilities required to 

conduct the work vital to the Navy and the Warfighter.
 20 | Arming the Fleet

Advanced Weapons Laboratory (AWL)

The F/A-18 AWL provides mission system engineering support for all variants of the F/A-18, 

coordinating all system upgrades and providing system engineering for F/A-18 hardware 

and software. In addition, the F/A-18 AWL develops its own integration and simulation 

laboratories, test equipment, and flight instrumentation.

Chemistry Laboratories

NAWCWD maintains a state-of-the-art research facility staffed with 

highly trained scientists who clearly understand military-specific 

technology and Navy needs. Laboratory personnel routinely conduct 

efforts requiring a rapid response. One example of the facility’s many 

unique capabilities is the High Target Utilization System, which can 

deposit uniform optical coatings at high rates over much larger areas 

than standard systems. Facilities include a large well-equipped 

clean room, which can be utilized for micro/nanofabrication. In the 

synthetic chemistry laboratories, the synthesis, formulation, and 

characterization of energetic materials are performed. A few notable 

examples of important developments stemming from work within 

these laboratories include hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20), 

the most powerful explosive known to date and a formulation that 

represents a giant leap in the field of energetic materials; spacesurvivable materials, which have been tested with great success on the 

International Space Station; and biofuels that are derived from butanol 

and pinenes that show great promise as renewable high-performing 

fuels. 

Dr. William B. McLean Laboratory

Dedicated to the founder of the Sidewinder missile, the Dr.WilliamB. 

McLean Laboratory at China Lake is a 177,000-square-foot laboratory 

that provides more than 50,000 square feet for general engineering, 

modeling and simulation (M&S), and logistics. Furthermore, this 

complex, which can accommodate more than 500 people, houses facilities 

for conferences and symposia.

Electronic Combat Range (ECR) 

The ECR is the Navy’s principal open-air range for the T&E of airborne electronic combat systems. 

Facilities provide a realistic electronic combat environment, including threat systems and operation 

and range control capabilities, as well as instrumentation to obtain time, space, position information 

(TSPI) and telemetry, optical, and communication data. Other resources include data processing and 

display, signal monitoring, and calibration systems, as well as assessment and repair facilities for 

use by T&E and training customers. This complex is the only U.S. DoD ECR having the necessary 

infrastructure for testing against naval air defense systems and combinations of land and naval systems 

Laboratories and Facilities
Laboratories and Facilities | 21

(littoral threats), either individually or as part of an integrated air defense system. Furthermore, the 

ECR is the only U.S. open-air EW range that affords realistic simulations of Russian naval systems 

and their associated shipboard command and control capabilities. As a direct result, TOPGUN student 

pilots routinely train there against realistic threat radar and surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems.

Fire Sciences Laboratory (FSL)

The FSL conducts small- and large-scale fire testing in support of shipboard aviation fire protection, 

weapons protection, and Navy and Marine Corps shore-based fire protection. The laboratory consists 

of two primary facilities, the FSL Burn Room and the Carrier Deck Firefighting Test Facility (Mini 

Deck). The FSL is the only Navy test facility that provides both small-scale testing in controlled weather 

conditions and full-scale fire testing on site with jet fuel and full flight deck conflagration environmental 

conditions. These include mass fuel spill, complete hose station capability, wind generation, full-scale 

weapons and aircraft simulation, and a P-25 firefighting vehicle.

Fuze Test Facility

The Fuze Test Facility at the China Lake Propulsion Laboratories (CLPL) is a new 15,000-squarefoot renovation of two existing explosive docks. The facility, operational in fiscal year 2011, provides 

laboratory space for performing fuze ordnance assessments. 

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) Facility

The HWIL Facility at China Lake is a new 17,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that contains 

two large radio frequency (RF)-shielded anechoic chambers. This facility also provides supporting 

laboratories for the ESSM and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Programs.

In-Service Engineering Laboratory

The In-Service Engineering Laboratory at China Lake is a new 20,000‐square-foot laboratory that 

provides support for in-service engineering sustainment and maintenance with functions from other 

activities.
 22 | Arming the Fleet

Insensitive Munitions (IM) Facilities

The IM facilities at China Lake provide a secure and safe environment for destructive tests of 

weapon systems. These tests evaluate munitions reactions from ambient to hot temperatures, extreme 

immediate hot temperature, rough handling, and hostile environment impacts. Facilities are secure and 

free from encroachment and frequently provide data for Army and Air Force testing to evaluate and 

provide safety margin data prior to full-scale manufacturing approval. In explosives tests conducted at 

the facility’s research and development areas, more than 100 tons of ammunition has been detonated 

to simulate ammunition ship or magazine accidents.

Integrated Battlespace Arena (IBAR)

The IBAR is an advanced simulation facility. Nine interconnected laboratories and facilities provide 

simulation and analysis—from the subcomponent to theater levels—with a degree of fidelity, flexibility, 

and dependability unparalleled in the DoD. Facilities are linked worldwide with multiple fiber-optic 

networks, including the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) and Defense Research 

and Engineering Network (DREN). In addition, the complex offers extensive range microwave 

telecommunication capabilities. The Virtual Prototyping Facility has the Navy’s first cockpit 

simulation that includes communications to and from the simulated aircraft to the weapons! If live 

assets are not available, the IBAR can simulate any aircraft, weapon, target, or terrain. Information 

is networked or data linked through communication systems from any ground, air, or sea platform. 

The Precision Engagement Center provides effective targeting and engagement capabilities so that 

the U.S. military and allied forces can model and rehearse tactical operations and fire integration. In 

the ongoing War on Terror, IBAR contributes significantly in countering radio-controlled improvised 

explosive devices (IEDs), EW systems, and unmanned systems (UxS). IBAR engineers and analysts 

developed a geo-referenced database to register and correlate tactical imagery terrain models based 

on a database maintained by the U.S. National Imaging and Mapping Agency. The database is used in 

theater to control raw tactical imagery from which users quickly calculate the precise location of items 

of interest. The database was used with great success in Kosovo 

and Iraq and is now being used in Afghanistan operations.

Interoperability Test and Experimentation 

Complex (ITEC)

The ITEC at Point Mugu links command, control, 

communications, computers, and intelligence systems during 
Laboratories and Facilities | 23

live fire and simulated test events in a controlled, closely monitored range environment. By linking 

test, training, experimentation, and evaluation assets with live- and synthetic-exercise resources, the 

ITEC provides a meeting place for the laboratory and warfighters, thereby enabling a flexible mix of 

laboratory control and operation dynamics. The ITEC is one of only a few facilities within the DoD 

that offers a land-based Link-16 capability in a littoral setting.

Joint Counter IED Facility (JCIF)

The JCIF is a specialized facility dedicated entirely to the RDT&E of anti-IED 

tactics and technologies. It is employed exclusively to produce and deliver 

“actionable” information pertaining to the performance and compatibility 

characteristics of counter remote-controlled-IED electronic warfare 

systems. Terrorism has created its own specialized arsenal of handmade, 

or improvised, bombs. These devices, often crude in nature, are very 

inexpensive to build and very deadly to our warfighters. During 

Operation Iraqi Freedom, these bombs have been the primary cause of 

United States casualties. In 2005, the Secretary of Defense directed 

the establishment of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat 

Organization (JIEDDO), which then directed China Lake to begin 

developing the JCIF. The Counter Improvised Explosive Device 

(CIED) Technical Project Office (TPO) provides daily updates 

and engineering analysis to fielded forces globally. Information 

turnaround is as short as 12 hours. The majority of testing is in direct 

support of requests for information that are generated in theater and 

prioritized by Combatant Commanders.

Junction Ranch 

Junction Ranch provides radar cross section (RCS), microwave 

measurement, and supporting functions to the Warfighter. This facility 

maintains a small efficient workforce who works closely with customers; active 

testing participation is invited and encouraged. Multiple test capabilities are 

available in one location. Data turnaround is quick, and the facility is capable 

of supporting competing contractors. Junction Ranch is unique because of 

its location and radar capability. Due to its remote secure location, there is 

a minimum level of spurious electromagnetic interference, thus ensuring 

the highest data quality possible. Surrounded by mountains, the 65-squaremile range and facilities provide precision outdoor RCS measurements 

of models and real targets, including air, ground, and sea vehicles; very 

low observables (VLOs); ship models and components; missiles; tactical 

ballistic missiles; reentry vehicles; ground vehicles; and plumes. The facility is 

also used to measure antenna patterns and to develop state-of-the-art capabilities in 

radar, software, and VLO target support functions. This facility can accommodate all levels of security 

classifications, and environmental clearances are in place to meet customer needs.
 24 | Arming the Fleet

Kenneth I. Lichti Range Operations Center

The Kenneth I. Lichti Range Operations Center, located at Point Mugu, is a joint range operations 

complex built in 2004. This 11.5-million-dollar project includes a 30,000-square-foot 

multistory structure to house Sea Range test planning, scheduling, and critical data 

collection functions and equipment, as well as operational synthesis instrumentation 

and software for interconnectivity of weapons development, test, and evaluation. 

Also located therein are flight termination systems that can take control of the 

test articles and then destroy them if they go outside a predetermined envelope. 

The new warfare concept capabilities of the range center link laboratories and 

test ranges worldwide to evaluate and improve missiles and weapons for real 

and simulated battlefield threats. Adjacent to the 36,000-square-mile Point 

Mugu Sea Range, this addition offers military branches of the DoD and allied 

forces a multitude of large-scale training involving air-to-air, air-to-surface, 

surface-to-surface, and surface-to-air exercises.

Laguna Peak Complex

The Laguna Peak Complex at Point Mugu is located on a 1,500-foot-high 

mountain and provides an elevated line-of-sight location for overlapping 

coverage of the Sea Range. The facility provides optics coverage, telemetry, 

airborne and surface target control, radio communication and data transmission, 

surveillance radar, and a command transmitter system (CTS) for command 

destruct. Laguna Peak is also a primary site for range safety CTS for all ballistic 

missile launches from Vandenberg AFB.

Lauritsen Laboratory

The Lauritsen Laboratory at China Lake is primarily devoted to engineering 

and research activities, including constructing a direct current plasma jet 

reactor for diamond deposition. This device produces diamond film, which 

researchers are developing to grow on metals to create diamond-coated ball 

bearings and other long-wearing, low-friction applications.

Michelson Laboratory

Michelson Laboratory, which was built in the late 1940s, is one of the primary research complexes at 

China Lake. This premier facility provides 9.5 acres of floor space and houses an astounding array of 

talented technicians, engineers, scientists, and program managers with specialized knowledge, talents, 

and expertise. The laboratory is equipped to support basic and applied research in physics, chemistry, 

aerophysics, metallurgy, and ballistics, as well as development work in propulsion, fire-control, and 

guidance systems for rockets. This one-of-a-kind resource provides the infrastructure and intellectual 

capital to advance the state of the art in RDT&E. During its 60-year history, countless weapons were 

developed within its walls, including Sidewinder, Spike, and Tactical Tomahawk. 
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 25

Missile Engagement Simulation Arena (MESA)

The MESA measures the electromagnetic interaction of a sensory system (fuze or guidance) with 

its intended target. It provides cost-effective, timely, and accurate dynamic missile engagement test 

data. Missile fuzes are tested against various targets, including full-scale fighter aircraft, in a secure, 

controlled laboratory environment with all-weather, around-the-clock operational capabilities. It is the 

only facility of its kind that provides a cost-effective and accurate method of developing, testing, and 

assessing the performance of proximity fuze systems; validating fuze models and endgame simulations; 

studying the survivability of platforms; and making live fire test and evaluation (LFT&E) predictions. 

The ability to model encounters with threat targets under realistic and varied conditions and under 

laboratory conditions sets this facility apart from outdoor backscatter ranges. 

Optics and Laser Research Facility

The Optics and Laser Research Facility is located in Lauritsen Laboratory at China Lake. Within 

this valuable resource, personnel conduct RDT&E on optical materials, components, subsystems, and 

laser systems. The facility provides cost and time savings to projects because of the rapid prototype 

fabrication capability. One example is the production of the 16‐inch IR range telescopes that were 

fabricated at less than half the cost of the commercial estimates, with the first prototypes delivered 

within only 3 months.

Ordnance and Propulsion Laboratories

The Ordnance and Propulsion Laboratories at China Lake represent the Navy’s most comprehensive 

and truly unique center for research and development of missile propulsion, ordnance, and fuzing. 

This complex provides a one-stop shop for propulsion and ordnance efforts, including the synthesis of 

ingredients for propellant and explosives for incorporation into weapon systems, as well as the design 

of warheads, bombs, fuzes, and rocket motors.

Radar Reflectivity Laboratory (RRL)

The RRL, located at Point Mugu, has three indoor anechoic chambers designed for both near- and 

far-field monostatic and vertical- and horizontal-plane bistatic RCS measurements at frequencies from 

very high to millimeter waves. These anechoic chambers provide a test facility designed to minimize 

the reflections from the interior walls, ceiling, and floor to provide equivalent free-space conditions 

for performing pristine measurements. Pertinent testing includes far-field RCS; monostatic and bistatic 

RCS measurements of full-size missiles, targets, and components; and scale-model aircraft and ships 

for survivability analyses, weapons system flight tests, production/quality assurance testing, diagnostic 

testing, and the development of scattering models. 
 26 | Arming the Fleet

Radiographic Inspection Facilities (RIFs)

The RIFs conduct baseline inspections to determine conformance, quality, anomalies, and failure 

analysis in the inspection of very large ordnance items. X-ray testing is conducted and documentation 

is prepared regarding the internal configuration of existing and prototype ordnance and non-ordnance 

items. Frequently referred to as “the world’s largest X-ray,” the high energy computed 

tomography inspection system, with digital imaging capability, is used to X-ray systems 

measuring up to 86 inches in diameter and 27 feet in length and weighing up to 

130,000 pounds. It is one of only four highly specialized machines in the United 

States capable of X-raying the largest submarine-launched ballistic missiles 

(SLBMs) in the Navy’s inventory. In addition, the conventional X-ray facility 

operates the only operational Betatron 23-million-electron-volt magnetic 

inductance accelerator in the United States. The RIFs support inspections 

associated with static firings of rocket motors and large bombs and 

provide a means to conduct diagnostic inspections. This facility is 

invaluable in providing quality assurance testing for the various large 

bomb systems deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Tomahawk and 

weapons from various missile intercept programs for Navy and Air 

Force Programs are regularly tested here. The RIFs are also utilized 

to evaluate the new Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb. 

Skytop Propulsion Complex

Skytop provides the infrastructure to conduct static test firings of 

solid-propellant rocket engines, gas generators, and ignition systems, 

both fielded and developmental. Evaluations at Skytop include those 

for rocket motors being qualified for future use in complete weapon 

systems. Also performed there are aging and surveillance studies 

to ensure that deployed motors are maintaining specific design 

capabilities. The multidisciplinary technical team at Skytop is highly 

trained. Full-scale all-up-round motor experimentation is conducted 

on weapon systems with up to 2 million pounds of thrust and as large 

as 92 inches in diameter. Developmental and production acceptance 

tests, as well as aging motor studies of the Navy’s submarine-launched 

Fleet ballistic missiles, have been performed at Skytop, thus ensuring 

that the United States has the most reliable strategic deterrent system in 

existence. Skytop has been instrumental in the developmental testing of most 

tactical air- and surface-launched weapons currently in use by the Fleet. 

Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track (SNORT)

The SNORT is a 4-mile-long dual-rail precision-alignment track for the testing of rockets, guided 

missiles, model and full-scale aircraft, and components under free-flight conditions at velocities from 

subsonic through supersonic. The SNORT is the second longest and fastest supersonic sled track in 

the world. In fact, items being tested on the track can reach speeds up to 6,000 feet per second. Testing 

is extremely cost-effective because SNORT combines many advantages of laboratory testing with 
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 27

dynamic free-flight testing and allows test article recovery. Tests performed thereon include longduration runs and controlled deceleration, aircrew safety, terminal ballistics, rain erosion, vehicle and 

barrier, aeroballistics, damage and destruction, and soft recovery assessments. Complex multiple target 

penetration tests using live high-explosive-filled warheads are also conducted. Recently, the cleared 

target areas at the end of and surrounding the track have been used for IED detection testing. The 

cleared areas offer a secure, controlled environment to test ground- and airborne-detection and disposal 

methods.

Thompson Laboratory

The Thompson Laboratory at China Lake was named after China Lake’s first civilian Technical Director,

Dr. L.T.E. Thompson. Thompson Laboratory is primarily devoted to engineering and research activities, 

such as developing HARM’s Block 3A missile guidance software.

Weapons and Armaments Technology Laboratory

The Weapons and Armaments Technology Laboratory is a new facility at China Lake that opened in 

2011. This complex is a 75,000-square-foot facility that contains high-bay and small-bay laboratories 

to support equipment functions. The laboratory provides logistics weapon support capabilities.

Weapons Dynamic RDT&E Center

The Weapons Dynamic RDT&E Center, a new facility at China Lake, provides dynamic testing of all 

Navy weapon systems, ranging from all-up rounds to components in all life-cycle configurations. This 

7,200-square-foot facility provides vibration testing for transportation, shock, shipboard, and aircraft.

Weapons Survivability Laboratory (WSL) 

The WSL is the Navy’s field activity for weapon system nonnuclear survivability, weapons lethality, 

and LFT&E assessments. Therein, survivability testing is conducted for all three major services. 

The WSL is the largest LFT&E facility in the world, encompassing five major test sites capable of 

supporting full-scale test articles. This complex also includes an underground site to evaluate smallerscale articles. It is the only facility with three High-Velocity Airflow Systems (HIVASs) generating 

flight-representative airflow to operating aircraft. The Missile Engagement Threat Simulator is a highpressure gas gun capable of precisely delivering “live” man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) 

and other projectiles at high velocities. The threat of one person toting an inexpensive IR-guided 

shoulder-launched missile and successfully destroying a military aircraft is real! For example, during 

Desert Storm, several F/A‐18 and A-10 aircraft incurred major structural damage from SAMs but, 

fortunately, managed to return safely to base. In addition, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, when 

Afghan forces attacked al-Qaeda and Taliban holdouts in one of the biggest battles of the War in 

Afghanistan, seven Apache helicopters were attacked. However, the aircraft had been redesigned based 

on WSL LFT&E findings; and, although they were hit, all seven managed to fly home.
 28 | Arming the Fleet

Weapons Systems Center for Integration (WSCI)

The WSCI, a China Lake facility that opened in 2010, provides a focal point for weapon development 

and testing, including weapon M&S, mission-level engineering, and integration. The facility contains 

four secure laboratories within more than 10,000 square feet of laboratory space. 

Weapons Systems Support Activities (WSSAs)

The WSSAs at China Lake afford weapon system support. The WSSA facilities offer a fully controllable 

environment for executing regression tests and problem investigations. The facility is the only DoD 

facility that possesses a software development capability, as well as weapon system integration, for 

the F-14 aircraft. The WSSAs provide periodic functional upgrades due to changing threats, roles, and 

missions, as well as to correct latent defects or to replace obsolete parts.
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 29

War on Terror

NAWCWD supports the War on Terror in many ways; however, the following section 

is concerned only with direct support for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation 

Enduring Freedom. These two conflicts represent the main thrust of a global 

effort to curtail and ultimately defeat terrorist cells throughout the world.
 30 | Arming the Fleet

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, China Lake set up the Warfighter Response 

Center (WRC), with three prime directives: maintaining constant connection between warfighters 

and engineers, providing a secure state-of-the-art meeting place for that team, and functioning 

as a central hub for the NAWS commanding officer in the event of a mishap or natural 

disaster. Within 5 weeks, an open-storage secret site was created, thereby providing 

NAWCWD personnel and the Warfighter around-the-clock support. The WRC 

is a fully functional Naval Aviation Weapons Distance Support Center and is 

currently the NAVAIR aviation help desk for the Naval Aviation Enterprise. 

The WRC fields more than 500 support requests annually.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) quickly became the 

Warfighter’s weapon of choice during the War on Terror, so much so 

that supply could not always keep up with demand. To fill this gap, 

China Lake, in only 3 weeks, provided the necessary maintenance 

to 630 JDAM tail kits needed by deployed Marine Corps forces. 

In another effort to get JDAMs to the Fleet, Point Mugu was 

tasked to provide JDAM capability to legacy F-14Bs, and a crew 

from the F-14A/B/D integrated product team (IPT) was sent 

aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Abraham Lincoln, and 

USS Constellation to provide the same capability to the F-14D.

The LCDB and the MAC warhead were two China Lake quickresponse efforts to provide the Warfighter with increased capability 

in urban environments. In both cases, the Fleet needed weapons 

they could employ in urban environments without unnecessary 

collateral damage. The LCDB, a laser-guided bomb (LGB) 

developed by China Lake in under 16 months, can engage enemies 

in semi-hardened structures, with minimal damage to surrounding 

structures or noncombatants. For their work on the LCDB, China 

Lake personnel were awarded the Top Navy Scientist and Engineers 

of the Year Award in 2007. With development and testing taking 

approximately 13 months, the MAC warhead was fielded even more 

quickly than the LCDB. VX‐9 played a crucial role in that effort by finishing 

testing in 4 weeks, an effort that normally takes 4 months. The MAC warhead “can take out 

the first floor of a building without damaging the floors above,” thereby making it a valuable asset 

in the War on Terror.

NAWCWD also provided critical support to the Warfighter’s targeting ability with systems 

like Digital Precision Strike Suite (DPSS), Precision Strike Suite–Special Operations Forces 

(PSS‐SOF), Rapid Attack Information Dissemination and Execution Relay (RAIDER), and the 

Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP). In the battle of Fallujah, DPSS improved the accuracy and 

timeliness of targeting capability, while reducing the chances of collateral damage. The WRC at 

China Lake manages deployment of DPSS and other NAVAIR prototype systems. Like DPSS, 

War on Terror
War on Terror | 31

PSS-SOF significantly increased targeting capability and quickly became the targeting system 

of choice for both GPS- and laser-guided weapons deployed for close-air support missions, 

troops in contact missions, and time-sensitive missions. In 2007, three RAIDER systems were 

deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and NAWCWD civilian engineers supported them in theater. 

For example, the RAIDER team provided USS Harry S. Truman with Link-16 capability based 

on a RAIDER Ground Mobile Gateway System. SHARP was approved for early deployment 

and provided real-time high-resolution images to ground forces in northern Iraq. SHARP also 

allowed the central computer on USS Abraham Lincoln to download images from F/A-18s and 

convert them to weapon targeting coordinates.

The ECR at China Lake supported a Joint Fleet Exercise (JTFEX) with USS John C. Stennis. 

Two tent cities, representative of the current conflict, were constructed at Charlie Airfield to 

provide realistic areas of opportunity for EW-opposed strike missions. The Joint Electronic 

Warfare Effects Laboratory also provides important EW-related support; for example, in 2009, 

it completed 59 critical tests that resulted in direct changes to operations.

VX-30 was often sent in theater to support the War on Terror. For example, a crew from VX-30 

was tasked with flying a C-130 to Iraq and preparing it to launch five drone aircraft at Baghdad. 

VX-30 Hornets also flew in support of USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Carl Vinson, USS Nimitz, 

USS Ronald Reagan, and USS Peleliu. In 2009, VX-30 deployed four personnel to the Central 

Command, Atlantic Ocean Range.

VX-31 was also essential to NAWCWD’s support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, particularly in 

support of the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar for the F/A-18E/F. In 2009, 

two individual augmentees from VX-31 were deployed overseas. Their support of Operation 

Iraqi Freedom earned them a Meritorious Unit Commendation.

Another award, the Edward Heinemann Award for design and modification, was presented to the 

Intrepid Tiger Pod Team for quickly getting an urgently needed communication system to the 

Warfighter. NAWCWD and the Naval Air Warfare 

Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) helped the 

Naval Research Laboratory develop the pod by 

using recycled mobile Sea Range pods. VX-9 at 

China Lake performed operational testing on the 

pod before it was deployed. In 2008, the team 

released the O-Level Intrepid Tiger Pod.
 32 | Arming the Fleet

I can tell you that systems developed and tested at WD [the Weapons Division] played a critical 

role in our success in Fallujah, including DPSS, TDM [Tactical Dissemination Module], and 

the F/A-18 aircraft integration of the GBU-38, the 500-pound JDAM. I personally witnessed a 

GBU‐38 surgical strike take out a building being used by insurgents in a crowded neighborhood, 

while leaving the buildings next door unharmed. The work done at WD is making a difference in 

the War on Terrorism.

—Captain Dan Lee

 Military Director, Weapons and Energetics Department
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 33

Weapons

NAWCWD expertise has been applied in the majority of the 

U.S. family of air- and surface-launched weapons. Throughout 

the years, NAWCWD has been involved in every aspect of 

weapon development. 
 34 | Arming the Fleet

Weapons

Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM)

The AARGM is an enhancement kit for the HARM and is the next-generation ARM. 

The kit mates a completely new dual-mode anti-radiation homing and millimeter 

wave terminal guidance section and a modified control section with GPS/inertial 

navigation system (INS) capability to the rocket motor, airframe, and warhead 

of an AGM‐88B/C. NAWCWD served as the lead technical field activity, as 

well as the lead for T&E in captive and live fire scenarios. 

Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air

Missile (AMRAAM)

The AIM-120 AMRAAM is an all-aspect medium-range air-to-air radarguided missile designed for air superiority. Specifically, the AMRAAM 

targets threat air superiority fighters. NAWCWD’s current role includes 

development and engineering support, T&E, platform integration, and 

Fleet logistics and training. Specific China Lake milestones include the first 

AMRAAM fired from an F-22 and EA-18G.

Antisubmarine Rocket (ASROC)

The ASROC is a quick-reaction all-weather intermediate-range 

antisubmarine warfare (ASW) weapon launched from surface ships. 

ASROC consists of a torpedo, a double-base propellant rocket motor, 

an ignition separation assembly, and a dome-shaped plastic nose cap 

that protects the torpedo’s transducer assembly as the weapon enters the 

water. The system became operational in 1961 and was used frequently 

during the Vietnam conflict. In 1964, China Lake upgraded the ASROC 

to double the missile’s standoff range and increase its delivery accuracy. 

In the early 1970s, China Lake helped to develop the Vertical Launch ASROC 

(VLA), which was an improved rocket-propelled ASW weapon that is designed 

for deployment on ships equipped with the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System. The 

VLA uses a larger rocket motor with a jet vane thrust vector control system and 

an onboard digital autopilot to ensure accurate, extended-range delivery from the vertical launch 

mode. NAWCWD continues to support propulsion steering technology through the ongoing 

Compact Low-Cost Thrust Vector Control Program and is also engaged in programs using jet vane 

technology, including the Sidewinder AIM-9X and the ESSM. Thrust vector control technology 

is also an important part of the Standard Missile-3 Third-Stage Rocket Motor, a key element in 

the Navy’s Sea-Based Theater Ballistic Missile Defense Program.

Bulldog

The AGM-83 Bulldog was an air-to-surface laser-guided missile designed for use in close-air 

support by the U.S. Marine Corps. Bulldog’s large delivery envelope, long-range and lowaltitude fire capability, and low cost made it ideal for destroying small ships, bridges, tanks, and 

similar stationary and mobile targets. The AGM-83 was conceived, designed, and developed by 
Weapons | 35

China Lake as a replacement weapon for the AGM‐12 Bullpup, which was used considerably 

in Vietnam but had several operational problems. Designed around the Bullpup airframe, the 

Bulldog incorporated components from existing weapon systems wherever possible, including a 

significant amount of Sidewinder technology for the guidance system. 

Condor

The AGM-53 Condor was a long-range air-to-surface television-guided supersonic cruise missile 

designed to provide the U.S. Navy a standoff capability against heavily guarded, high-value, and 

strategic targets. China Lake was the lead field activity and technical manager responsible for 

initial development and also provided the technical direction for the dual-mode seeker, turbojet 

design, systems engineering, guidance, fuzing, warhead development, system safety, propulsion, 

aircraft interface, and cost analysis. 

The “Eye” Series

In its capacity as the Navy’s lead laboratory for free-fall weapons, China Lake developed the 

“Eye” series of weapons in the early 1960s to improve the Navy’s air-attack capability. Weapons 

in the “Eye” series include Briteye, Deneye, Fireye, Gladeye, Padeye, Sadeye, and Snakeye; 

however, Walleye and Rockeye (specifically the Mk 20 Rockeye II cluster bomb unit [CBU]) 

stand out as having had the greatest impact on the Fleet. Conceived, designed, developed, and 

tested by China Lake in the early 1960s (the weapon was fielded in 1967), Walleye was the 

first precision-guided air-to-surface weapon. The Mk 20 Rockeye II CBU is an unguided freefall cluster weapon intended for use against tanks and armored vehicles. Rockeye serves as the 

backbone for the CBU-59 Antipersonnel/Anti-Materiel (APAM) and CBU-78/B Gator bombs, 

which are still in service today. 

Fat Man and Little Boy 

China Lake was a major contributor to the success of the Fat Man and Little Boy during World War II. 

The China Lake and Caltech Team were tasked to develop the nonnuclear explosive components of the 

atomic bomb. China Lake also performed detonator testing; mixed, melted, cast, and machined 

explosive shapes; air-dropped hundreds of bomb components and shapes from B-29 bombers; 

studied and solved flight problems; and conducted aeroballistic tests to optimize aerodynamics 

and to test fuze functions. The team also evaluated equipment procedures to be used in the tactical 

delivery of the atom bomb. Aerodynamically, the early bomb configurations were incapable of 

accurate flight. Hundreds of drop tests with different fins and weight distributions were required 

to solve the problem. This work was conducted at China Lake and several other sites around the 

country. Only dummy bombs (no nuclear warheads) were dropped at China Lake. Sea testing was 

also conducted to determine whether the shock would detonate the weapons in case Fat Man or 

Little Boy was jettisoned at sea. 
 36 | Arming the Fleet

Fleet Ballistic Missiles

Fleet ballistic missiles are large long-range submarine-launched missiles equipped with nuclear 

warheads. China Lake’s development efforts advanced thrust vector control systems, propellant 

efficiency and safety, and technology for large rocket motors. 

Fuel-Air Explosive (FAE) Weapons

FAE weapons use an explosive charge to create an aerosol cloud of fuel in the air, which is 

then ignited by a detonator, thereby creating high overpressure useful against soft targets in 

protected areas, such as personnel in trenches, as well as clearing mine fields and landing zones. 

China Lake had full-spectrum capability on several FAE weapons, including the CBU‐55A/B, 

CBU‐72/B, BLU-95, BLU-96, APAM, and several others.

Gator

Gator is an antipersonnel, antitank air-to-surface unguided munitions delivery system used by 

the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force against area targets such as tanks, armored vehicles, 

trucks, radar installations, SAM sites, parked aircraft, and other materiel. Gator is the successor 

of Deneye, an antitank mine delivery system developed by China Lake in the early 1960s as 

part of the “Eye” series of free-fall weapons. NAWCWD is currently responsible for in‐service 

engineering and logistics support.

General Purpose Bombs 

The Mk 80 weapon series, which include the 250‐pound (Mk 81), 500-pound (Mk 82), 

1,000-pound (Mk 83), and 2,000-pound (Mk 84) bombs, are free-fall air-to-surface unguided 

general purpose bombs. China Lake and Point Mugu have been actively involved with RDT&E of 

bombs since World War II. Consequently, China Lake became the Navy’s lead laboratory for free-fall 

weapons in the early 1960s. 
Weapons | 37

Harpoon

The AGM/RGM/UGM-84 Harpoon is an autonomous all-weather over-the-horizon antiship missile 

system providing the Navy and Air Force with a common missile for air, ship, and submarine 

launches. Harpoon is a fire-and-forget missile system using both inertial and active-radar 

guidance. The blast warhead is effective against a wide variety of targets, including 

ships at sea and in port, coastal defense sites, SAM sites, exposed aircraft, and 

port and industrial facilities. Although the U.S. Navy orders ceased, Harpoon 

upgrades will continue to 2015. The missile also continues to be one of the 

most widely exported Navy weapon systems, with more than 30 allied 

nations fielding the system.

Hellfire 

The AGM-114 Hellfire (Heliborne Laser Fire and Forget) is a 

close-in point defense air-to-surface precision-guided missile 

designed to engage tanks and armored vehicles, both stationary 

and moving. In general, China Lake’s Tactical Weapons Office 

serves as assistant program manager for systems and engineering 

and as class desk for NAVAIR’s Defense Suppression Systems 

Office. Point Mugu serves as assistant program manager for 

logistics and as the Fleet support team for integrated logistics 

support services of Hellfire. In particular, China Lake developed 

the MAC warhead used in the AGM-114N. In addition to the 

MAC warhead, China Lake continues to support development 

of the AGM-114R to ensure that it meets Navy requirements, 

specifically in relation to Military Operations in Urban Terrain 

targets. 

High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM)

HARM is an air-to-surface guided anti-radiation missile for the 

suppression of enemy air defense. The HARM was designed 

to address the deficiencies in Shrike and to incorporate new 

technologies to engage modern, constantly evolving threats. 

NAWCWD remains the technical lead for HARM and is 

responsible for legacy HARM software updates. 

Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM)

The JAGM is intended as a replacement missile for Hellfire; Maverick; 

and the Tube-Launched Optically Tracked Wire-Guided missiles on rotarywing, fixed-wing, and unmanned platforms. The JAGM is intended to engage a variety of 

targets, including advanced heavy/light armored vehicles, bunkers, buildings, naval patrol craft, 

command and control vehicles, transporter/erector launchers, artillery systems, and radar/air 

defense systems. NAWCWD plays a significant supporting role for each of the contractors in 

the JAGM Program, provides personnel for Integrated Product Teams, working groups, and failure 
 38 | Arming the Fleet

review boards, as well as providing contractor analysis documents, white papers, technical 

guidance documents, and supporting research. 

Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)

The JDAM is a low-cost strap-on GPS/INS guidance kit that converts free-fall airto-surface unguided bombs, or “dumb” bombs, into accurately guided “smart” 

munitions. NAWCWD serves as the Navy’s lead field activity for JDAM, while 

also providing Fleet technical support, as well as support for contractor 

testing, mission planning and development, and logistics. NAWCWD 

played a major role in the integration of JDAM on several platforms, 

including the F/A-18C/D/E/F; the F-14B/D; the AV-8B; and, in 2009, 

the MQ‐9 Reaper. NAWCWD also helped field the Laser Joint Direct 

Attack Munition (LJDAM) system in October of 2008.

Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System (JMEWS)

The JMEWS is a long-range weapon system that provides 

increased flexibility and lethality in denied environments 

against hardened targets. This warhead technology will provide 

a leap-ahead capability against a widely varied target set, which 

includes hard and soft targets. Currently, the JMEWS warhead is 

being integrated into a Block IV Tomahawk missile because the 

warhead’s extended operating range and in-flight command and 

control are critical to successfully mitigating identified capability 

gaps. Other platforms may be considered for future follow-on 

acquisition after the JMEWS warhead design is optimized and 

successfully flight tested. NAWCWD China Lake is the Navy’s lead 

T&E agent on the JMEWS project and provides fuzes and technical 

support. The production warhead is tentatively scheduled to be 

introduced to the Fleet in 2014/2015. 

Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)

The AGM-154 JSOW is a standoff-outside-point-defense 

air-to-surface laser-guided glide weapon used to engage a 

variety of targets, depending upon the variant employed. JSOW 

comes in three main variants: the baseline version, which deploys 

145 bomblets for area targets; the antiarmor version, which carries 

six bomblets for armored targets; and the unitary version, which has a dualstage warhead for blast/fragmentation and penetration of point targets. China Lake provides 

support for systems engineering, flight test planning, logistics and training, and developmental 

and operational testing and conducts Fleet introduction and interface; in fact, the first flight test 

took place at China Lake in 1994.
Weapons | 39

Laser-Guided Bombs (LGBs)

LGBs are air-to-surface precision-guided bombs designed for use against all types of surface 

targets. As the name implies, LGBs use a nose-mounted laser guidance and control system in 

concert with tail fins to direct the weapon to the target. China Lake’s work with LGBs began 

in the late 1960s while helping the Air Force adapt its Pave Knife laser target designator pod 

to the Navy’s A-6 aircraft. In the 1980s, China Lake developed a rocket-propelled version 

of the GBU-16 that went into production in 1985 as the AGM-123 Skipper. More recently, 

NAWCWD designed, tested, and built the BLU-116A/B warhead for the hard-target penetrator 

LGB designated GBU‐24G/B and developed the Dual-Mode Laser-Guided Bomb (DMLGB).

Maverick

The AGM-65 Maverick is a standoff-outside-point-defense air-to-surface guided missile used 

against a variety of targets. Today, China Lake’s Tactical Weapons Office serves as assistant 

program manager for systems and engineering and class desk for the NAVAIR Defense 

Suppression Systems Office. In that capacity, China Lake supports the Navy and Marine Corps 

variants from cradle to grave. Point Mugu serves as assistant program manager for logistics and 

as the Fleet support team for integrated logistics support. NAWCWD is currently lending its 

support to the Enhanced Laser Maverick (AGM-65E2) Program initiated to address the need for 

a close-air support weapon capable of engaging moving targets.

Phoenix

The AIM-54 Phoenix was an all-weather long-range air-to-air radar-guided missile designed to counter 

the threat of Soviet bombers attacking naval carriers. In the 1980s, the Navy developed the Phoenix 

into an extended-range air-to-air missile called the Advanced Air-to-Air Missile. However, with the 

end of the Cold War in 1990, the threat of Soviet bombers was significantly diminished, a situation 

that, in turn, dramatically reduced the need for a missile of this kind. Therefore, in 1992, the program 

was canceled.
 40 | Arming the Fleet

Polaris

The UGM-27 Polaris was a solid-propellant SLBM that had two stages of propulsion. Polaris A-1 

weighed 28,800 pounds and had a range of approximately 1,000 nautical miles. Overall, the 

Polaris Program was one of China Lake’s most significant areas of accomplishment in Fleet 

ballistic missile support. The Polaris studies conducted by China Lake were instrumental in the 

development of the concept and the weapon system.

Regulus

Regulus was developed in the late 1940s to meet the Navy’s requirement for a long-range 

submarine-launched bombardment weapon. Regulus I was a 500-mile-range surface-to-surface 

subsonic guided (cruise) missile that began testing at Point Mugu in 1949. The Regulus II had 

a range of 1,380 miles and was initially boosted by a rocket motor and then powered by a 

10,000-pound-thrust turbojet engine to a speed of Mach 2. Regulus came to Point Mugu for 

T&E in January 1949 and became the largest single program in Point Mugu history in terms of 

manpower and facilities. The last Regulus II target drone was flown in 1965.

Revolutionary Approach to Time-Critical

Long-Range Strike (RATTLRS) Program

The RATTLRS effort is a Navy-led flight demonstration project to develop advanced technologies 

for turbine-powered expendable flight vehicles that can travel at supersonic speeds exceeding 

Mach 3. The RATTLRS concept involves a highly integrated supersonic air vehicle with an inlet 

and nozzle system. This weapon incorporates an expendable turbine propulsion system, whose 

size, shape, and weight are traceable to a joint tactical expendable weapon system. NAWCWD 

is tasked with the chief engineer functions, tactical weapons traceability, aeromechanical design 

support, flight test planning, and flight range supporting operations. NAWCWD continues T&E 

efforts, and the RATTLRS flight test program is being completed.

Rockets

Rockets are air- and surface-launched unguided ballistic trajectory weapons propelled by the 

controlled burning of energetic materials. China Lake developed the Zuni rocket, a 5.0-inch airto-surface unguided folding-fin rocket developed in the 1950s. The Zuni was initially intended 

for air-to-air combat but later evolved into an air-to-surface weapon. China Lake also developed a 

2.75-inch air-to-air rocket nicknamed Mighty Mouse. Like the Zuni, the Mighty Mouse is an unguided 

folding-fin rocket. This rocket remains one of the most fired weapons in history, surpassed only by 

bullet-type ammunition.
Weapons | 41

Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)

The RIM-116A RAM is a lightweight, quick-reaction, high-firepower surface-to-air weapon 

designed to counter antiship missiles. The RAM is a 5-inch passive dual-mode RF and IR fireand-forget missile that uses Sidewinder technology for the warhead and rocket motor. Because 

of its high-tech guidance system, RAM requires no shipboard support after the missile is 

launched. RAM is effective against a wide spectrum of threats and supplements Phalanx 

and SeaSparrow in the ship’s defensive arsenal. China Lake is the design agent 

for developing the rocket motor for the RAM Block II kinematic upgrade 

design. In 2008, it was determined that the upgrade design was ready for 

implementation, integration, and verification. The NAWCWD Sea and 

Land Ranges continue to be used for operational and development 

testing. A capability against helicopter, aircraft, and surface targets 

is currently being developed, and operation evaluation occurred in 

2005. SeaRAM is also being developed for smaller ships, and, in 

2008, a SeaRAM system was installed on USS Independence.

SeaSparrow 

The SeaSparrow SAM system, which was based on the original 

air-to-air Sparrow missile, can destroy hostile aircraft and 

antiship missiles. The SeaSparrow has a low-altitude guidance 

system that is effective against very-low sea-skimming cruise 

missiles. Since 1991, NAWCWD has served as the technical 

direction agent on the SeaSparrow Program. By 1995, 

engineering and manufacturing on the ESSM began. The ESSM 

was a kinematic improvement to the SeaSparrow, with a primary 

mission of destroying highly maneuverable low-altitude antiship 

cruise missiles. RIM-162 ESSM entered low-rate initial production 

in 2003, with NAWCWD continuing T&E. 

Shrike

The AGM-45 Shrike is a passive-homing air-to-ground ARM designed 

to suppress enemy air defense. Conceived, designed, developed, and 

tested by China Lake, Shrike was the first U.S. anti-radiation missile 

to be mass produced. Most notably, China Lake pioneered antiradiation guidance employed by Shrike and its successors.

Sidewinder

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air guided missile 

used to engage all types of jet aircraft and helicopters. China Lake 

conceived, designed, and developed the Sidewinder in the early 

1950s under the direction of Dr. William B. McLean and continues 

to employ a similar full-spectrum capability today. The basic Sidewinder 

airframe shape and design remain essentially unchanged since the first-generation variant, the 

AIM-9B. However, there is a continuing product improvement program constantly devising new and 
 42 | Arming the Fleet

advanced variants, the current being the AIM-9X. In addition to the linear developmental path of 

Sidewinder as an air-intercept missile, there are also a few divergent paths that led to new uses 

for Sidewinder, like SideARM, RAM, and Chaparral.

Sparrow

The AIM-7 Sparrow is an all-aspect medium-range air-to-air radar-guided 

missile. Point Mugu was involved in evaluating every variant of Sparrow 

since its inception. Those efforts included the first successful test, in which 

Sparrow I rode a radar beam; the first air launch of Sparrow I, II, and III; 

and the first kill for all three variants. China Lake began working on 

Sparrow in the early 1970s, after its disappointing performance during 

the conflict in Vietnam. Today, most of NAWCWD’s efforts with 

Sparrow focus on the SeaSparrow and the ESSM.

Spike

Spike is a man-portable fire-and-forget guided missile and 

launcher system that is very low cost and lightweight. Highly 

effective against helicopters and lightly armored vehicles, Spike 

is a boon to warfighters in urban assault scenarios. Originally 

conceived and developed at China Lake, Spike is the smallest 

guided missile in the world, at 25 inches in length and 2.25 inches 

in diameter, with a weight of 5.3 pounds. The system is envisioned 

as a safer, more-accurate alternative to rocket-propelled grenades 

(RPGs) and as a relatively inexpensive complement to the manportable Javelin antitank missile. Compared to unguided RPGs with a 

range of only a few hundred yards, Spike has a range of approximately 

2 miles. The cost of a Spike missile is also significantly less than that of the 

Javelin missile, thereby allowing the more costly missile to be used for 

heavily armored targets. The cost goal of $5,000 per unit makes Spike 

the lowest-cost guided missile in existence. Further T&E are continuing.

Standard Missile

Standard Missile is the Navy’s primary surface-to-air Fleet defense 

weapon and is widely deployed on Navy ships. Standard Missile began 

development in 1964, entered service in 1968, and has steadily evolved. 

The three main subtypes included the Standard Missile-1, Standard 

ARM, and Standard Missile-2. The Standard Missile-2 Block I was an allweather ship-launched medium-range air defense missile with added midcourse 

command guidance to increase area coverage. China Lake maintains a computer-in-the-loop 

facility for software development and target-detecting device (TDD) tests. NAWCWD developed 

and maintains a new engineering simulation, GENSIM, used to predict the performance of the 

Mk 45 TDD. NAWCWD conducted blow-down wind tunnel tests to qualify the Mod 9, 10, and 14 

TDDs. For the cancelled Standard Missile Block IVA Program, NAWCWD developed an accurate 

method of field testing forward-looking fuzes by using artillery shells as targets and provided 
Weapons | 43

consultation on IR seeker development. NAWCWD is also funded to develop new safety and 

arming technology using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. NAWCWD also 

supports the development and testing of the Standard Missile-3, a variant of the Standard Missile 

that fires from an Aegis cruiser to intercept a ballistic missile in the exo‐atmosphere. 

Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM)

The AGM-84E SLAM is a standoff-outside-area-defense air-to-surface missile. Its primary targets 

include high-value/time-critical land targets in high-threat areas and ships in port. NAWCWD 

wrote the system specification and statement of work for the initial concept of SLAM and was 

involved in all engineering efforts from conception through full-rate production. Because of the 

SLAM’s performance record in combat, China Lake was tasked with increasing its capabilities. This 

effort resulted in the Standoff Land Attack Missile–Extended Response (SLAM-ER), which was 

released in 2000.

Tomahawk

Tomahawk is a long-range surface-to-surface guided subsonic cruise missile used for land attack 

from submarines and surface ships, often against high-value assets in high-threat areas. Tomahawk 

has two warhead configurations: a 1,000-pound blast/fragmentation unitary warhead and a general 

purpose bomblet dispenser. China Lake is the Navy’s principal support activity for the Tomahawk, the 

acquisition engineering agent for the all-up round, the software engineering agent and the engineering 

design agent for the Tactical Tomahawk Penetrator Variant warhead. 

Trident

Selected in 1975 to build a Trident SLBM operational test range in the Pacific, Point Mugu designed 

and installed the Trident Missile Test Instrumentation System, which was the most complex and 

extensive range system ever assembled at Point Mugu. The system became operational in 1983 and 

provided test forces with real-time range safety displays, underwater submarine tracking, inflight tracking of up to four missiles, instantaneous impact predictions, and recording and display 

of missile telemetry. China Lake continues to evaluate the Trident propellant aging properties 

to help the Navy understand the quality and reliability of the Trident weapon inventory. China 

Lake is also involved in the Trident D-5 Service Life Extension Program, which seeks to find 

alternative sources of supply and qualify new component production methods.
 44 | Arming the Fleet

We are exploring the outer boundaries of science and technology, as well as the 

conventional aspects. We do not hesitate to direct our attention to what we believe 

will be the principles and practices of tomorrow, and we try to organize them in order 

to better direct the programs of today.

—Dr. Royal Weller, first civilian Chief Scientist at NAMTC, Pt. Mugu
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 45

Unmanned Systems (UxS)
 46 | Arming the Fleet

Mission. NAWCWD is one of the Navy’s foremost activities that field UxS. Several teams, 

including the Unmanned Systems Activity (USA), are involved with this UxS effort. The 

USA is responsible for UxS in all domains—air, ground, surface, and subsurface—and 

provides all the components needed to launch, control, and recover these systems. In 

addition, NAWCWD is a technical lead for UxS sensors, weapons integration, cost 

and effectiveness analyses, and T&E.

In fiscal year 2011, UxS efforts outpaced those for manned systems in terms of 

total flight hours accumulated and revenue generated for the China Lake Land 

Ranges. UxS work is a strategic thrust area for NAWCWD, and UxS work 

continues to grow.

NAWCWD—Current UxS Role

NAWCWD Combat Support

NAWCWD personnel integrated, tested, and qualified for flight a number of 

specialized unmanned air system payloads to support combat operations in 

Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The integrations 

were conducted as rapid acquisition projects—each being completed in 

less than 18 months. These systems are regularly used to support combat 

operations. Additional prototypes and integration of new capabilities 

have been requested.

UAV Success in War on Terror, Osama bin Laden

According to a May 17, 2011 article in the Washington Post

entitled, “CIA flew stealth drones into Pakistan to monitor bin 

Laden’s house,” the United States employed sophisticated new 

stealth drone aircraft to fly dozens of secret missions to monitor the 

compound where Osama bin Laden was eventually killed. Drones 

provided high-resolution video that satellites could not provide. The 

article explained that drones were also used on the night of the raid, 

providing useful imagery for President Obama and his national security 

team. The new drones represent a major advance in the capabilities of remotely piloted planes, which 

have been the signature weapon against terrorism since September 11, 2001. As one of the Navy’s 

foremost activities to field UxS capabilities, NAWCWD is proud to be part of a national DoD team 

developing new tools for today’s warfighters.

UxS Full-Spectrum Support

There are few places in the nation where UxS customers can enjoy full-spectrum (cradle-to-grave) UxS 

RDT&E support. Regardless of the stage of development, from new unproven systems to battle-tested 

systems pushing the weapons test envelope, NAWCWD can handle any requirements. Whether the 

customer needs large time and airspace blocks for sensor operator training or multiple weapon launch 

scenarios, NAWCWD supports many concurrent operations. In addition, NAWCWD controls military 

restricted airspace, so authorized customers do not need to obtain an FAA certificate of authorization 

to operate UAVs on the ranges. 

Unmanned Systems (UxS)
Unmanned Systems (UxS) | 47

Intellectual Capital

With more than 2,000 science and engineering professionals (47% of workforce) and more than 

600 science and engineering technicians (15% of workforce), including 100+ PhDs and 600+ employees 

with master’s degrees, NAWCWD has the highly advanced intellectual capital necessary to respond to 

any urgent DoD or contractor requirement.

Cost Efficiencies/Optimum T&E Weather

Benefitting from more than 350 clear days per year, NAWCWD has optimum meteorological conditions 

that few UxS testing locations nationwide can match. If there is a technical problem, a customer can 

reschedule to fly the next day, if necessary. Customers save time and money by testing in one location.

UxS Weaponization

The UxS field has evolved so rapidly that there has been very little standardization. There are a multitude 

of size designs, ranging from very large platforms (equivalent to airliners) down to vehicles that can fit 

in the palm of a hand and can fly over land and sea, and some that operate in undersea environments. 

Therefore, engineers are considering all possibilities across a broad spectrum when developing future 

weapon options. 

Forward-Firing Miniature Munition (F2M2) (Formerly Called Spike). China Lake is credited 

with developing the world’s smallest guided missile, the F2M2. Weighing about 6 pounds, this fireand-forget missile is approximately 24 inches in length and is suitable for a variety of unmanned 

and manned systems; it is accurate and portable—designed to be shoulder- or platform-launch 

capable. 

Miniature Guided Bomb Unit (MGBU). Engineer teams are researching and developing the 

MGBU, a miniaturized gravity bomb for line-of-sight applications. The MGBU weighs less than 

4 pounds and is designed for accuracy, with minimal collateral effects. It can be utilized by small 

UAVs such as the small tactical unmanned aerial system (STUAS) and RQ-7 Shadow.

GPS-Guided Miniature Munition (G2M). Engineers are developing a 40-millimeter-sized 

precision miniature munition called the G2M for non-line-of-sight applications. It is intended to 

be compatible with shoulder- or platform-launched applications. G2M is undergoing navigation 

testing and development of other critical system components and subsystems. Future development 

options may include integration of sensors and components to expand capability and increase range.

The F2M2, MGBU, and G2M are being developed to provide small UxS and dismounted forces with 

a standoff precision engagement capability with minimal collateral effects.

UxS Payload Integration—System-of-Systems

Standards-Based Approach

UxS platforms require multiple payload capabilities with various size, weight, and power constraints. 

Since point solutions are often unaffordable and unsustainable, China Lake designed, built, and applied 

system-of-systems engineering to develop a standards-based stores management approach that is 

both platform and payload agnostic. The small, lightweight, low-power, interoperable system can be 
 48 | Arming the Fleet

integrated across domain platforms for strike and force protection with many payloads—including 

nonlethal weapons. In addition, NAWCWD has made significant advances in MEMS, nanotechnology, 

micro-explosives, and super-capacitor technology that are significantly reducing the size and weight 

power supply requirements for UxS. Nanoplasmonics and metamaterials accommodate the need 

for miniaturization of optoelectronic components that are critical to reduce the footprint and weight 

of future weapon systems. With more than a dozen unmanned combat system firsts in the industry, 

NAWCWD maintains a strong leadership position in the UxS battlefield of tomorrow. 

Shipboard Efforts 

• Performed ship integration efforts for Pioneer; maritimized vertical takeoff-and-landing UAV 

system (MAVUS); Tactical Air-Launched Decoy (TALD) and Improved Tactical Air-Launched 

Decoy (ITALD)

• Performed shipboard flight certification and operational demonstration with MAVUS

• Performed shipboard operations with Fire Scout unmanned aerial system (UAS)

Naval Integrated Operations

• Integrated Predator UAS flown from San Nicolas Island into Fleet Composite Training Unit 

Exercise 96-1A for training exercise surveillance, reconnaissance, mini-strike (day and night), 

and mobile target track support

• Integrated Predator, ScanEagle, and Raven UAVs into Tomahawk operational test launch, an 

effort that allowed for tactical targeting and battle damage assessment

• Demonstrated successful tactical control system (TCS) level 5 command and control (using 

Block 0 with Predator, Block 2 with Fire Scout)

• Participated in the unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) integration for Predator/Reaper 

Hellfire, GBU-32, and Fire Scout Hydra 2.75-inch rockets

• Support and host Black Dart counter-UAS flight operations on an annual basis

• Conduct flight test programs for the entire array of UxS

NAWCWD UxS Firsts

First Flights

• Northrop Grumman Corporation’s RQ-8 (Fire Scout) and X-47A (Pegasus)

• FAA-authorized transcontinental flight from Patuxent River to Point Mugu by Northrop 

Grumman Corporation’s Global Hawk

• Navy’s ScanEagle

First Launches

• AGM-114P against moving target from Army Sky Warrior; single AGM-114 (Hellfire) off 

MQ‐1 (Predator A); and ripple fire of AGM-114s from MQ-9 (Predator B)

• Air-to-Air Stinger from MQ-1 

First Releases

• GBU-39 JDAM from MQ-9 (Reaper)

• GBU-12 (Paveway II) from MQ-1 and MQ-9 (Reaper)

• GPS-guided small smart bomb (SSB) from the Boeing X-45A 
Unmanned Systems (UxS) | 49

Other Noteworthy Firsts

• First to support UAV search and rescue on land and at sea with Predator B

• First full power GPS jamming testing against MQ-9

UxS Flown/Tested on NAVAIR Ranges

UxS Land Range Testing

The following have been flown/tested on NAVAIR ranges: AeroLite, Aerosky, Aerosonde, Amber, 

Dakota, Dragon Eye, Exdrone, Falcon Prowl (United Kingdom), Fire Scout, Global Hawk, Global 

Observer, Hunter, Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) X-45A, MAVUS, Medium-Altitude 

Endurance UAV (MAE UAV) (MQ-1, MQ-9), Micro Air Vehicle, Pegasus, Pioneer, Pointer, Predator, 

Raven, Reaper, REECE, ScanEagle, Shadow, Sky Owl, Sky Warrior, Swift, Switchblade, TALD, TCS, 

Tilt Rotor UAV System (TRUS), UAV-Medium Range (UAV‐MR), UAV-Short Range, Vertical Takeoff 

and Landing Tactical UAV, Wasp. 

Drone Aircraft and Surface Craft Testing

Testing has been conducted on the following: AQM-37, BQM-34, BQM-74, BQM-126, BQM-145, 

High-Speed Maneuverable Seaborne Target (HSMST), KD‐2R5, MA-31, MST, QF-4, QF-86, QST‐35, 

Vandal.

UxS Sea Range Testing

A wide variety of UxS have been tested on the Sea Range, including ScanEagle flights supporting the 

Collaborative On-Line Reconnaissance Provider Operationally Responsive Attack Link (CORPORAL) 

Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD); the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance–

Demonstrator (BAMS-D); RQ-8A ship testing—MQ-8B Fleet Operational Site (2013); Raven 

Acceptance Test Plan and Fleet Demonstration; AeroVironment fleet of vehicles (Puma, Switchblade, 

Wasp); and the Predator fleet exercise.
If there is to be another war, the shape of it will be visualized here at China Lake. Each time I come 

here, I have an impression that I am being given a look into the future. Here, many of the weapons of 

the next war will have taken shape first in the minds of some of you now present. 

—John Nicholas Brown

Assistant Secretary of the Navy

 50 | Arming the Fleet
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 51

Research and Engineering

Throughout its history of excellence, NAWCWD has maintained a strong research, 

science, and technology base. These efforts are at the forefront of new weapons 

and systems development that give the Warfighter a decisive advantage. Extensive 

research is conducted annually in a wide range of topics, including combustion 

sciences, firefighting, IM, energetic materials, ordnance and propulsion, and 

laser and optical components. NAWCWD often partners with other national 

and international government research agencies, such as the Defense Advanced 

Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Office of Naval Research (ONR), NASA, 

and NATO. NAWCWD also often partners with private industry in joint research 

projects.
 52 | Arming the Fleet

Research and Engineering

Biology

Aircrew Physiological Studies

Point Mugu developed techniques for obtaining in-flight physiological data, especially 

in the multi-stress environment of flying tactical jets. In the late 1950s, research was 

conducted to design and build an instrument that would monitor and record in-flight aircrew 

electrocardiogram, respiration, and pulse rates. In the late 1960s, the Navy developed an 

in-flight recorder bio-pack for monitoring such bodily functions. This device transitioned to 

the In-Flight Physiologic Data Acquisition System (IFPDAS), which is used at Point Mugu 

to monitor aircrew flying the A‐4, F‐4, and F-14 aircraft. By the late 1970s, Point Mugu 

engineers made further advancements to the IFPDAS III. This knowledge was used to develop 

specifications for future life-support systems.

Biomimetics

In 2008, as part of a new biomimetic technology initiative, NAWCWD China Lake released 

a study conducted in association with the University of Wyoming on the eyes of flies and 

other insects. The common fly has an amazing ability to find moving targets in cluttered 

backgrounds, as well as land on moving “platforms.” Researchers wanted to know how flies 

accomplish these tasks effortlessly and then possibly apply this research to improve imaging 

sensors and signal processing. From this research, a fiber-optic sensor was developed. 

Chemistry

Advanced Oxidation Technologies (AOTs) 

AOTs refer to a group of chemical and physical processes that can be used for air or water 

treatment and purification. Current laboratory work being performed at China Lake focuses 

on improved semiconductor catalyst applications. Semiconductor materials have been 

synthesized, characterized, and tested and are validated against industry standard materials. 

Testing is also done to determine the applicability of the photocatalytic process for the 

treatment of other types of contaminated wastewater. It is envisioned that improvements in 

photocatalysts, when coupled with technologically advanced reactor systems, will reduce 

water-processing costs significantly, while greatly minimizing waste production and disposal.

Chemical/Biological Agent Defeat Program

China Lake is currently studying ways to defeat chemical and biological weapons. In 

association with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), these studies focus on 

three different energetic materials—enhanced thermites, solid interhalogenate salts, and 

difluoramine explosives. The goal is to create explosive fills that, upon detonation, generate 

species that kill biological weapons and break down chemical weapons. In tests against 

simulated biological weapons, spores were killed after only 20 minutes of exposure. 
Research and Engineering | 53

Clean-Power Generator 

Scientists at China Lake are researching new ways to bring clean power to off-grid targets, 

radars, repeaters, and radios on the test ranges, as well as, on a larger scope, helping to 

save the earth’s limited supply of fossil fuels. Using an experimental hydrogen fuel cell 

concept, engineers are testing a prototype that can turn the sun’s energy, collected through 

solar panels, directly into voltage without batteries. Currently, the ranges use solar 

photovoltaic panels to collect and store energy in large banks of batteries, which 

run the repeaters and other range operations. 

Corrosion Prevention 

NAWCWD has sought to replace the toxic heavy metals cadmium 

and hexavalent chromium with environmentally friendly electroactive polymers in coating systems on aluminum and highstrength steel parts for marine aircraft. NAWCWD researchers 

have performed pilot-scale synthesis, coated test panels, and 

tested coating system performance as part of joint efforts 

with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and multiple universities to 

see if the new materials can replace the toxic ingredients in 

aircraft coating formulations. 

Full-Spectrum Ballistic Eye Protection

In 2009, NAWCWD demonstrated a new material that 

improved contrast ratio and switching speeds in fullspectrum ballistic eye protection. The clear state allows 

for more than 85% light transmission, while the dark state 

transmits less than 20%. This material can also clear from 

30 to 80% in less than 1 second and darken from 85 to 50% 

in 3 seconds. Only minimal power is required to darken the 

lens. No power is required to keep the lens dark, and it can stay 

dark for weeks. The current produced when the lens is cleared is 

proportional to the level of darkening.

High-Temperature Composites 

NAWCWD developed new breakthroughs for a new class of 

materials to be used in weapons and aircraft that operate 

in the marine environment. These new resins are capable 

of surviving for short periods at temperatures in excess of 

700°F. For example, some can withstand the heat from a 

blowtorch. A major milestone was achieved in 2005, when 

NAWCWD researchers created the world’s first carbonfiber-reinforced composite article made from these new 

materials (high-purity arylethynyl-terminated polyphenylenes). 
 54 | Arming the Fleet

Liquid Bipropellant 

Controllable thrust-on-demand propulsion systems are required for numerous military 

and space applications, including axial propulsion for propelling a payload, 

propulsive vehicle steerage (known as divert), and propulsive vehicle pointing 

(known as attitude control). These systems must be versatile enough to provide 

the exact amount of thrust required for a specific mission with precision 

timing. Thrust on demand must be provided in multiple directions to 

intercept high-speed threat payloads, and propulsion systems must be 

packaged in a small volume with minimal weight. 

Molecular Photonic Materials (MORPHs) 

China Lake continues to participate in the DARPA MORPH 

Program. The program’s emphasis is to build a low-voltage highbandwidth optical modulator and sensor-protection devices. 

Films and devices of revolutionary new nonlinear optic (NLO) 

materials are prepared in laboratories at Lumera Corporation, 

the University of Washington, and the Georgia Institute of 

Technology. Scientists at China Lake, the Air Force, Army, 

Naval Research Laboratory, and the Laboratory for Physical 

Science (University of Maryland campus) form the team for 

modeling, testing, and evaluating the NLO organic materials. 

Films in devices tested in government laboratories have achieved 

record-setting electrooptic coefficients. 

Nanoscale Metal Powders and Reactive Composites

Metal fuels, like aluminum and magnesium, are used in many 

propellants, flares, countermeasures, and explosives. One area of 

intense research at NAWCWD is nanoscale metals and composites. 

Nanoscale materials are roughly one billionth of a meter in size. 

In the mid-1990s, NAWCWD scientists found that fine-grain 

(150‐nanometer) metal powders developed in Russia were 

capable of enhancing detonation velocities in explosive and 

increasing propellant burning rates two- or threefold. NAWCWD 

developed and patented a new solution method for preparing finegrain aluminum powders (50 to 500 nanometers). In collaboration 

with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), NAWCWD also patented 

lead-free percussion primer mixes based on metastable interstitial composite 

technology—nanoscale composite mixtures of an ultrafine metal fuel and an oxidizer. These 

primer mixes could replace conventional ammunition primers that use either lead azide or 

lead styphnate, two toxic materials that cause neurological, gastrointestinal, reproductive, 

and renal damage in humans. 

Navy P3 Resin

In 2009, NAWCWD successfully produced a P3 polymer with a phenylethynyl end cap 

(Navy P3 resin) using a controlled temperature scale-up for the first time. The batch weighed 
Research and Engineering | 55

more than 1 pound and will allow composite test panels and cylinders to be manufactured 

for evaluation at China Lake. The resin offers significant gains in affordability, moisture 

resistance, and safety during fires compared to current resins.

Nonlinear Optical Polymers (NLOPs) for Precision Navigation/Data Transmission 

Chemists at NAWCWD have developed several NLOPs that offer lower cost and higher 

performance in fiber-optic, avionic, and photonic applications. For example, these polymers 

will become part of a revolutionary new guidance capability that will allow troops to stand 

off at great distances and take out enemy targets with pinpoint accuracy. 

Optical Dome Material Work

Since the first IR-guided Sidewinder missile flew in the 1950s, NAWCWD China Lake has 

developed domes with improved durability to protect seekers’ delicate optics. IR domes must 

survive high-speed collisions with rain, sand particles, and bugs. 

In the 1980s, China Lake also marshaled leading laboratories in academia and industry to 

identify new, durable materials for long-wave (8- to 12-micrometer wavelength) seekers. 

Out of this effort, by 1990, chemical-vapor-deposited diamond was identified as the most 

promising material. In a decade-long effort, diamond was taken from a microscopically thin 

laboratory curiosity to millimeter-thick, centimeter-size windows capable of being tested on 

rocket sleds. Today, NAWCWD China Lake is exploring new frontiers in developing window 

materials with nanometer-size grains that might possess increased strength and ability to 

form complex shapes, thereby opening up the possibility of fabricating tough composite 

windows.

Unitary Fuze Module 

In 2005, NAWCWD researchers applied for a patent for a new unitary fuze module with its 

own onboard sensors that monitor the environmental conditions and arm the weapon when 

the required conditions are met. These conditions may be at a safe separation distance from 

the launch platform or at a decreasing distance to the target. Personnel can easily install the 

self‐contained fuze module with only one bus connection to the launch platform on ordnance 

such as JDAM. Having onboard sensors results in more-reliable arming. This capability is 

especially important because unexploded ordnance is used by insurgents to create IEDs. 

Very-Low-Absorption Coatings 

China Lake researchers are working with the Air Force to improve window materials, coatings, 

substrates, and optical metrology that will improve the performance of beam and fire-control 

optics on the Airborne Laser. These new technologies will have direct applications for 

heat-seeking missiles, surveillance and tracking systems, and high-power lasers. Improved 

antireflection coatings will also increase standoff distances, enhance resolution and target 

recognition, and provide better discrimination of decoys, as well as mitigate sea-surface glint 

and reduce power requirements for future versions of weapon systems, including the Advanced 

Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pod, Standard Missile, and Sidewinder. 
 56 | Arming the Fleet

Computer Technology

Bomb Mission Planning Tool

NAWCWD developed a graphical user’s interface (GUI) for the naval stores planning and 

weaponeering component of the Joint Munitions Planning System. Fleet support turned 

the GUI development into a stand-alone program. NAWCWD enhancements evolved from 

interactions with warfighters and expertise in weapons systems. NAWCWD integrated Joint 

Munitions Effectiveness Manual hard-target penetration tools into a Paveway Munitions 

Planning Tool (PMPT), thus providing a “one-stop” tool for LGB mission planning.

Early Computer Technology

In 1946, the world’s first fully electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and 

Calculator (ENIAC), began operation at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1950, China Lake 

was eager to adapt the new machines to its needs. Two China Lake chemists designed and 

constructed an analog computer that was made of old radar and radio parts. The computer 

dramatically reduced the time necessary to calculate the theoretical performance characteristics 

of certain propellant compositions. 

In the early 1950s, Point Mugu had one of the first large digital computers ever built, the 

Raytheon Digital Automatic Computer (RAYDAC), which was used as the nucleus of a realtime telemetry data reduction system. RAYDAC consisted of a large number of vacuum tubes 

and banks of mercury-filled acoustic delay lines.

The Technical Library at China Lake also developed a computer system in the 1950s that 

could search a database by subject. The IBM 701, the first mass-produced computer and 

defense calculator, is credited with conducting “the first subject search ever made by a digital 

computer” in 1954. 

Level Set Geo-Registration Image Enhancement

Using a mathematical theory known as level sets (best analogy is a topographic contour map), 

China Lake researchers, in association with Cognitech, developed a tool that automatically 

registers video or still frames from tactical sensors to a Digital Point Positioning Database or 

other controlled reference image base. Using level sets and registration, Navy personnel can 

perform a variety of image enhancements. Level set geo-registration allows for frame fusion 

and integration, thereby clearing up distortion in the video frames. 

Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs)

DEWs are large concentrated doses of energy (i.e., photons or particles traveling at or near 

the speed of light) directed toward targets to destroy them. China Lake is currently conducting 

research and development of high-energy laser (HEL) technology, including using fiber lasers, 

laser architecture support beam control, microwave radiation emitters, electromagnetic rail guns, 

particle beam accelerators, and diode pumps. Laser weapon projects tested at China Lake included 

the Laser Avenger, which is a High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)-mounted 

directed energy air defense system. During a 2009 test, the Laser Avenger shot down six drone 
Research and Engineering | 57

aircraft over the Land Ranges. In 2010, a laser weapon system successfully tracked, engaged, 

and destroyed a drone in flight during a test at San Nicholas Island on the Sea Range. This test 

was significant and illustrated the potential lasers can provide to the U.S. military. Typically, a 

laser loses effectiveness as it moves through a moist, salty sea air, but, as the DEW demonstrated, 

it did not lose power and was accurate. The Navy expects to one day use laser weapons to 

intercept antiship missiles and other threats, including smaller ships (i.e., pirate skiffs). 

Electronics

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) 

Miniaturization technologies, such as MEMS and nanotechnology, 

are the future, and NAWCWD continues to develop multi-point 

initiation for an electromagnetically actuated MEMS device. 

High-speed digital video cameras were placed to capture 

the timing between the detonations. Post-shot inspection 

indicated that all micro-explosives detonated, as evidenced 

by dents and hole expansion. Extensive testing with MEMS 

contributes to the production of micromachines, microintegrated circuits, and microoptics that will be used in the 

defense, security, and aerospace sections.

Super-Capacitor Technology

NAWCWD researchers work with private industry and 

academia to develop super-capacitors that will demonstrate 

80% charge storage retention after 100,000 cycles at 75% 

depth of discharge. This project will significantly reduce 

the size and weight requirements for power supplies for air 

weaponry, UAVs, and portable electronic devices for weapons, 

communications, computing, surveillance, and sensing. 

Energetics

CL-20

In 1987, researchers at NAWCWD China Lake invented 

CL‐20, a breakthrough in energetic materials, a compound 

with a higher energy density and lower sensitivity than 

those of previous materials. CL‐20 has been called the 

“most significant energetic ingredient in 50 years” because 

of its high performance, minimum signature, and hazard 

characteristics. The synthesis process for CL‐20 was scaled up 

by industry to produce sufficient material for formulation work, 

and the formulations have been characterized for performance, 

signature, and safety properties. CL‐20 also has important applications 

in the commercial world. A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) 
 58 | Arming the Fleet

was established with Thiokol Propulsion to perfect the material for scale-up to commercial 

production and availability for military and commercial applications.

Improved Combustion in Thermobaric 

Explosive Formulations

In 2005, three new patents were issued to NAWCWD researchers for 

creating thermobaric explosives with improved combustion efficiency. 

Thermobaric explosives work by first expelling a cloud of explosive 

mist using a small charge and then igniting it with a second charge. 

While effective in open spaces, these types of bombs have proved 

ineffective in confined poor-oxygen environment areas, such as in 

tunnels. The new explosive components have a 50 to 100% higher 

blast energy and will help to eliminate these problems.

Insensitive Munitions Technology Transition Program 

(IMTTP) Warhead Demonstration 

In 2004-2005, IMTTP efforts greatly improved the IM 

performance of a 5-inch-diameter warhead when compared 

with the existing Sidewinder warhead. This capability was 

demonstrated by utilizing both a directional-based initiation 

design and the conventional end-initiated design currently used. 

Working with the Joint Navy/Air Force IM Bomb Program, 

NAWCWD designed new annular bomb fills with shock-attenuating 

liners to mitigate sympathetic detonation in general purpose bombs. 

Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion 

Technology (IHPRPT) Program 

Meeting the demand for future Navy missiles requires 

continuous technology development. The IHPRPT Program, 

started in 1994, is an integrated tri-service/NASA/industry 

effort to develop and demonstrate innovative, revolutionary 

technologies that will double rocket propulsion capabilities, 

including boost, space, and tactical. NAWCWD handles 80% of the 

tactical IHPRPT Program, leads the tactical demonstrator program, 

and bears overall responsibility for propellants and control systems. 

In 2005 and 2006, NAWCWD completed payoff studies involving the AIM-9X, AMRAAM, 

and RAM, and results showed significant improvements in increasing propellant energy 

and motor volumetric loading, decreasing component weight and volume, and increasing 

component efficiency, without sacrificing safety or increasing cost. 
Research and Engineering | 59

Joint Technical Coordinating Group on 

Aircraft Survivability (JTCG/AS) 

Fire is a leading contributor to attrition of aircraft in combat. Active fire-suppression systems, 

however, can often be complex, costly, and heavy. Various passive fire-protection technologies 

exist that are low cost and low weight. For example, the simple passive extinguisher involves 

a reactive agent placed or installed directly within the aircraft compartment. Fire activates the 

agent, which rapidly fills the compartment and extinguishes the fire. In addition, upon ballistic 

impact, reactive powder panels will break open and release the encased fire suppressant 

powder. The JTCG/AS project at China Lake is investigating the use of an energetic material to 

enhance powder release from such panels. For example, ionomer fuel containment technology 

could be used to produce better self-sealing materials, hot surface ignition mitigation to 

reduce the surface-to-liquid heat transfer when flammable fuels encounter hot components, 

and intumescent firewalls that respond to fire by swelling several orders of magnitude beyond 

their original thickness to thermally protect and insulate the structure. 

NAVSEA/NAVAIR Navy Energetics Program

The power of energetic materials is a critical Navy technology, ranging from a 5‐milligram 

low-energy initiator to an 81,000-pound rocket motor. In every Navy weapon, this material 

either burns or blows up. Because Sailors live at sea in close quarters with high-explosive 

weapons, munitions are an even greater concern to the Navy than for other military branches. 

The Navy Energetics Leadership Board (NELB) and the Navy’s Energetics Integrated Product 

Team (EIPT) are forging a unified NAVSEA/NAVAIR energetics program that represents all 

four of the Navy’s energetics laboratories: Crane, Indiana; Dahlgren, Virginia; the Indian 

Head Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Maryland; and NAWCWD at China 

Lake and Point Mugu. The NELB will “preserve the Navy’s competency in energetics, foster 

collaboration among warfare centers, and speak for the Navy energetics [community] with a 

single voice.” 

Reduced-Smoke Propellant

At the end of World War II, solid rocket motors were made from the same smokeless doublebase propellant (i.e., nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose) used in guns. More-modern rocket 

motors, however, use propellants composed of rubber binders filled with powdered ammonium 

perchlorate and solids like powdered aluminum. This composition performs better than 

previous propellants and can be cast into motors of any size and shape but produces a white 

smoke that, in certain weapon systems, is extremely disadvantageous. In response to the needs 

of the Sidewinder and the HARM teams, during the 1960s, China Lake engineers developed a 

composite propellant without the aluminum powder. This became known as a reduced-smoke 

propellant. Removing the aluminum caused only a slight reduction in performance but did 

introduce the problem of combustion instability. China Lake soon solved this problem by 

developing reduced-smoke motors for Sidewinder and HARM in the 1980s.

Roseville–Benson Investigations 

In 1973, explosions rocked two different trains carrying Air Force bombs filled with Navydeveloped explosives. The incidents, one at Roseville, California, and the other at Benson, 

Arizona, shook public confidence in the safety of transporting military ordnance and resulted 
 60 | Arming the Fleet

in a lawsuit against the government. China Lake explosives experts conducted a rigorous 

examination of the entire process of the design, manufacture, and quality control 

for the Mk 81 and Mk 82 bombs involved and solidly demonstrated the safety 

of the weapons. Through careful scientific investigation of the explosion sites 

and laboratory analysis of the evidence, the China Lake team isolated the 

cause of the disasters to the trains’ faulty brake shoes that set fire to the 

wooden boxcars carrying the bombs. Over a period of 7 years, China 

Lake scientists and engineers assisted U.S. attorneys in developing 

the technical aspects of a defense that saved the government between 

$50 and $90 million in damages.

High-Speed Weapons (HSWs) 

High-speed supersonic and hypersonic weapons can provide 

dramatic improvements in platform and weapons survivability, in 

the ability to engage time-critical targets, and in the penetration 

of hardened and deeply buried targets. NAWCWD’s strategic 

objective is to position itself as the leader in HSW development, 

thus giving the United States a definite decisive advantage.

NAWCWD has conducted extensive work in the technologies 

required to make such weapons a reality, including efforts in 

advanced airbreathing propulsion systems (i.e., ramjet), blended 

body airframes, high-temperature materials, and ordnance package 

concepts. Programs such as RATTLRS are under way to demonstrate 

these technologies in flight testing. 

Increased Capabilities Against Moving 

and Stationary Targets

NAWCWD is currently developing two systems to increase the 

Navy’s capability to engage moving and stationary surface targets 

in all weather conditions. The first system is the Direct Attack Seeker 

Head (DASH), a low-cost dual-mode (imaging IR/millimeter wave) 

seeker for attacking moving and stationary surface targets in adverse 

weather conditions. DASH’s goal is to provide that much needed capability to the Tactical 

Tomahawk, but the modular seeker design will allow integration into a variety of weapons by 

using adapter kits.

The second system is the multimode sensor seeker, which utilizes visible, IR, and laser radar 

sensors in correlation with advanced automatic target recognition algorithms to increase target 

identification in all-weather maritime environments and reduce false alarm rates and operator 

workload. The sensor hierarchy will also provide increased standoff range. This system is 

intended for the MQ-8 Fire Scout but may also be placed into future weapon systems.
Research and Engineering | 61

Missile Airframe Technology

NAWCWD missile airframe technology efforts provide affordable airframe structures, stable 

weapon flight, increased maneuverability, safe separation from launch platforms, reduced drag, 

improved aero-prediction and defense penetration techniques, and high-temperature airframes. 

NAWCWD has greatly advanced composite material technology and was instrumental in 

developing American Society for Testing and Materials standard material test methods that 

are now used by the industrial community for characterizing the structural performance of 

filament-wound composite structures. Before this time, there was no accepted method to qualify 

manufacturers. NAWCWD is developing the advanced high-performance motor cases needed 

to satisfy IM requirements and the lightweight high-temperature structures required for highperformance hypersonic weapon systems.

Physics

Nanoplasmonics and Metamaterials

The need for miniaturization of optoelectronic components is critical for reducing the footprint 

and weight of future weapons systems. Currently, most optical devices are built at the scale 

much larger than the wavelength due to the limitation of wave diffraction that prohibits light 

transmission in the sub-wavelength scale. The latest developments in nanoplasmonics and 

metamaterials offer the potential to overcome this diffraction limit, thus enabling devices 

to be built in the sub-wavelength scale. Another newly discovered application of these 

materials is a novel physical effect of the nonlinear properties of metamaterials. Nonlinear 

metamaterials can shield objects from high-power laser beams. It has been observed that the 

shielding strength increases with increasing laser power. 

Radiant Virgo and the Moving Target Demonstration

Under the Radiant Virgo project, researchers developed an application that provides automated 

geo-registration of tactical UAS video obtained from electrooptic and IR sensors. With the 

use of a Digital Point Positioning Database to help derive precise coordinates, PGMs can then 

engage relocatable, nonmoving ground targets in nearly real time. Virgo was also adapted to 

utilize other nongovernmental resources, including WorldView1. 

The moving target demonstration builds on the geo-registration capabilities of Radiant Virgo 

by incorporating a moving tracker. This modification will provide PGMs with moving target 

track capability for passive moving target tracking and precision engagement on the ground. 

The goal is to automatically track objects of interest and provide automatic geo-rectified 

updates at 1/2- to 1/5-second intervals.

Technology Transfers

NAWCWD transfer programs have included telecommunications on radar systems, video 

frequency data conversions, data displays, test facilities, and a design for an airport firefighting 

system for short takeoff and landing airports for the FAA. Work was done in low-light-level 

television, voice scramblers, patrol car tracking, and personnel communication links for the Law 
 62 | Arming the Fleet

Enforcement Assistance Administration. Biomedical ideas have been brought to life for the 

National Institute of Health, and an air quality control monitoring program conducted 

mapping of aerosols for the State of California. Other significant NAWCWD 

contributions resulted from investigations into wind, solar, and geothermal 

energy; solid waste conversion to clean-burning fuel; aircraft survivability; 

and an explosive device used to clear fire lines for the Forest Service. It 

would require volumes of documents to describe all the research and 

technology that NAWCWD has transferred to industry. The following 

subsections, though, highlight many of these achievements.

Actuated Cable Cutters

In the early 1950s, China Lake developed a blank explosive 

cartridge-actuated cable cutter for emergency cable cutting for 

ship tow/transfer lines, helicopter supply lines, etc. In 1990, this 

technology was transferred to private industry, and, today, several 

companies have developed advanced cartridge-actuated cutting 

tools that are used nationwide, as well as by many countries 

throughout the world for police, sheriffs, special weapons and 

tactics (SWAT) teams, and fire departments to cut security bars, 

chains, and locks.

Calcification-Prevention Tablets

For decades, the Navy dealt with the problem of calcium buildup in 

the sewer systems aboard ships. When urinals are flushed with sea 

water (which is well saturated with calcium), uric acid and other 

acid components cause precipitation of calcium carbonate, which 

builds up on the inside of the ship’s plumbing. The traditional 

cure for pipes clogged by calcium deposits is hydroblasting, 

which is expensive and time-consuming. NAWCWD China 

Lake scientists developed inexpensive, environmentally 

friendly water-soluble polymers that are placed into urinals 

in tablet form and release citric acid to bind the calcium in the 

flush water. Today, virtually every ship in the U.S. Navy carries and 

uses this product. This technology is also being used by industry in 

countless commercial vessels and facilities worldwide.

Chemiluminescent Light Stick 

NAWCWD China Lake developed the chemiluminescent light stick technology between 1962 

and 1986 for military use as emergency lighting for life rafts, downed flyer beacons, map 

reading, and damage evaluation. An improved technology was patented in 1986 and 1987, and 

it was licensed commercially. Commercial uses include novelty items and safety illumination 

sticks for emergency kits and commercial fishing lures, as well as brightly glowing novelty 

safety necklaces. This technology also received the 1993 Federal Laboratory Consortium 

(FLC) Award for Technology Transfer Excellence.
Research and Engineering | 63

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Elimination for Soldering 

and Fire-Suppression Applications

NAWCWD China Lake evaluated commercially available non-ozone-depleting products for 

cleaning electronic assemblies and helped to develop and test low-residue no‐clean solders, 

citric-acid-based flux, and wave soldering processes. With military aircraft susceptible to 

fires caused by ballistic penetration of fuel tanks, Halon 1301 was the agent of choice for 

extinguishing fires. It, unfortunately, was also being phased out. In response, NAWCWD 

developed gas generators (“pyrotechnic extinguishers”) that produced large quantities of 

inert gases to smother fires. The first patent for this technology was issued in 1986.

Continuous Emissions Monitor (CEM) 

The TraceAIRTM system was developed to answer an environmental need to monitor pollution 

from the primary 14 toxic airborne metals frequently emitted from incinerator stacks. A 

CRADA between NAWCWD China Lake and Thermo Jarrell Ash Corporation was formed, 

and the system was developed, tested, and validated as a viable commercial environmental 

monitor. In 1997, the TraceAIRTM CEM system was recognized as a winner of one of the 

prestigious R&D Magazine 100 Awards. These awards recognize the 100 most technologically 

significant new products of the year and have been referred to as the “Oscars of Invention” 

and the “Nobel Prize of Applied Research.” The inventors of the TraceAIRTM system were 

also awarded a 1998 Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer by the FLC.

Diamondoids

In 2004, NAWCWD negotiated a CRADA with Chevron to jointly develop new products 

based on “diamondoids,” which are nano-diamond fragments that are very rigid and stable. 

ChevronTexaco recovers diamondoids from natural gas wells. NAWCWD is exploring 

potential uses as building blocks for optical and structural components of future weapon 

systems. Decades ago, similar compounds were investigated for airbreathing rocket fuel 

at China Lake, but new purification methods are making a wide variety of new structures 

available for other applications. 

Dual Polarized Broadband Tapered Slot Antenna

NAWCWD researchers invented a low-cost, lightweight dual polarized broadband tapered 

slot antenna that can be used for multiple applications and is very cheap to manufacture (e.g., 

$200 versus the $5,000 charged by contractors). The first and second radiating antennas 

are colocated and positioned to be perpendicular to one another. Each antenna includes a 

relatively thin dielectric substrate and a radiating metallic antenna element mounted on the 

upper surface. These new antennas allow for linear, elliptical, and circular polarization. 

Electrical Initiation System 

Electrically ignitable primers have been previously used in military applications for highspeed firing of various-sized-caliber ordnance; in blasting for mining operations; for 

automotive crash bag initiation and inflation; and for seismic guns, kiln guns, rocket motors, 

and pyrotechnic displays. Many of these primers, however, are not suitable for small arms such 

as rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Typically, electrically ignitable primers initiated by exploding 
 64 | Arming the Fleet

bridgewires or hot wires in combination with a semiconductive mixture, pyrotechnic mix, 

or conductive mix suffer from relatively long ignition times. This new electrical initiation 

technique relies substantially on vaporizing a thin metallic film or strip and rapidly igniting a 

lead-free explosive composition. The patent on this technology was awarded in 2005.

Environmentally Friendly Mixture of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) 

NAWCWD researchers were issued a patent in 2005 for making an environmentally friendly 

explosive mixture of TNT by using a cyclodehydrative condensation mechanism for melting 

the high explosive. This method does not produce unwanted highly toxic nitration isomers 

that must be discarded, a very expensive process. The new materials generated can be safely 

reused.

Exploding Foil Initiator (EFI) Based Squib Arm-and-Fire Device (AFD)

During the Bosnian conflict, China Lake developed the low-energy exploding foil initiator 

(LEEFI), which is used in-line with main charge explosives to safely initiate warheads. The 

LEEFI employs microelectronics technologies that required only half as much energy as 

conventional initiators, and production was two-thirds less labor intensive. In 2004, EFI 

technology advanced and has significantly reduced the cost and weight of rocket motor safety 

devices. Other applications include use in thermal batteries, non-detonating self-destruct 

mechanisms, and pyrotechnic ignition devices.

Explosive Forming and Welding

During the 1960s, NAWCWD China Lake invented explosive forming and explosive welding, 

two exotic techniques that revolutionized metal fabrication. In the course of investigating 

terminal ballistics, shaped charges, and metal-explosive systems, China Lake scientists 

discovered that a small explosive charge is capable of exerting tremendous forces on a piece 

of metal by generating shock waves through a medium (usually water or oil), which can then 

be directed to deform a workpiece at very high velocities. In a second method, an explosive 

charge is held in direct contact with the workpiece while the detonation is initiated, thus 

producing interface pressures on the surface of the metal up to several million pounds per 

square inch. The shock waves perform the same function as a mechanical punch. Today, the 

techniques pioneered by NAWCWD China Lake are widely used in the aerospace and aircraft 

industries, as well as in the production of automotive components.

Geophysical Warfare, “Rainmaking” 

During the Vietnam conflict, the United States military needed a way to interdict enemy 

traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. NAWCWD China Lake developed weather manipulation 

technology to “seed” specific clouds to enhance rainfall, thereby significantly deterring enemy 

activity on the trail. NAWCWD personnel participated in Operation Popeye, a top secret 

project (now declassified) to train B-52 pilots to use C-130s to seed certain clouds. This 

project was highly successful, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail was washed out, thus making it 

impossible for the enemy to move to their destinations. This project was the first time the 

military manipulated the weather as a weapon. This highly successful technology is used 

today by industry in hurricane abatement, fog control, and drought relief.
Research and Engineering | 65

Geothermal Energy

In 1964, geological engineers at China Lake discovered the enormous geothermal potential on 

the northwest portion of the base. In 1977, a Navy plan was developed for a private industry 

contract. The intent was to take advantage of the geothermal energy to generate savings to 

the Navy for the cost of electricity and to stimulate the Navy’s alternative energy program, 

thereby allowing the Navy to become more independent of foreign fuels. A contract 

was awarded to California Energy Company, Inc. 

Total savings to NAWCWD since that time exceed $36 million, and the 

Navy will save in excess of $500 million during the life of the contract. 

The military set a goal that 25% of its energy should come from 

renewable sources by 2025, and NAWCWD China Lake was 

assigned the lead role for all Navy geothermal efforts, even those 

not geographically limited to China Lake. As environmental 

concerns continue to shift toward “greener” power sources 

worldwide, geothermal technology will stay in the forefront 

to supply energy by using the earth’s inner heat.

Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Containers

NAWCWD Point Mugu was involved in helping develop 

new technologies for HAZMAT containers. These containers 

help the Navy comply with strict Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act regulations, as well as provide the Navy with 

a significant cost savings. During the first year of operation, 

for example, the Navy reduced its HAZMAT purchases from 

$132,000 to $55,000, with only one directorate participating in 

the program. The second year, purchases dropped to $43,000. 

More than 60 different types of HAZMAT containers are currently 

in use at Navy/Army/Air Force facilities around the world. They 

are also currently available on commercial carriers. 

Health Monitoring System for Warfighters

NAWCWD researchers, in conjunction with Sun Biomedical 

Technologies (SunBMT), have developed novel data mining 

techniques for the early detection of disease. This new 

capability has the benefit of increasing both warfighter 

productivity and mission success rates. Warfighter 

productivity decreases during the symptomatic stage of 

any illness. Early detection, along with proper medical care, 

greatly reduces the duration of the illness. Also, missions can 

be compromised if critical personnel are noticeably ill during 

the mission. The gestation period for diseases can range from 

hours to years; therefore, the Warfighter may be unaware that he or she 
 66 | Arming the Fleet

is sick prior to deployment. Testing essential personnel for disease before deployment will 

reduce the number of sick warfighters in the field. The procedure created by NAWCWD 

and SunBMT accomplishes these goals by using a small blood sample to reliably 

predict disease occurrence before the onset of symptoms. 

Improved Soldering Technology 

During the 1970s, NAWCWD China Lake pioneered a unified set of 

state-of-the-art soldering techniques, materials, and processing 

technologies to ensure the production of high-quality, high-reliability 

electronic modules for military systems. China Lake also developed 

WS‐6536, the DoD soldering specification. This effort led to a set 

of highly successful soldering technology seminars and training 

courses that were regularly presented and hosted at China Lake 

from 1976 to 1993. Industry sent representatives to China Lake 

for training and certification. In 1993, the training course was 

transferred to industry through a CRADA between NAWCWD 

and Comarco, Inc. The soldering technology and techniques 

developed under this program led directly to today’s highquality, high-reliability electronic systems in the commercial 

marketplace. 

Injection Loading of Energetic Materials 

NAWCWD China Lake began developing injection loading 

technology in the mid-1980s to meet the Navy’s IM requirements. 

This process provided a valuable means of loading explosives into 

munitions, thus providing a greater range of loadable viscosities and 

consistent load quality. For plastic-bonded explosives, injection 

loading is much faster than conventional casting methods. China 

Lake also built a bench-scale injection loader in 1986, which was 

certified in 1995 for live operation. The injection loader has been 

in operation since and is also applicable to the propellant industry. 

Lead-Free Electric Primer

NAWCWD developed and optimized a lead-free primer formulation 

using nano-aluminum and molybdenum trioxide, a formulation that is one 

of two likely candidates for integration into industry as a replacement for lead primers in 

electrically primed ammunition. In testing and characterization, these primers have shown 

very positive results and meet DoD specifications. Thus, NAWCWD’s efforts have led to a 

safer primer with better resistance to aging. 

Logarithmic Amplifiers

The first ultrasonic body scanner was pioneered at China Lake during the late 1960s and early 

1970s. Logarithmic nonlinear amplifiers compress and limit the amplitude of large-dynamicrange electronic signals. At China Lake, these amplifiers were under development for radar 
Research and Engineering | 67

signal processing applications. Sonar signals can also have very large dynamic ranges. In 1971, 

NAWCWD China Lake transferred the design for a custom logarithmic amplifier to the Mayo 

Clinic, which was instrumental in the design, development, and successful demonstration 

of the first ultrasonic body-scanning equipment. Ultrasonic scanning equipment has since 

become a very important noninvasive medical diagnostic tool used worldwide.

Natural Pumice

The Ordnance Evaluation Branch at NAWCWD China Lake was the first branch of the 

U.S. Government to use pumice to protect assets and personnel, with three patents awarded. 

NAWCWD first discovered the useful effects of pumice in the late 1970s while performing 

sympathetic detonation research. Engineers discovered that pumice, a volcanic ash created as 

lava cools, is readily found on the China Lake ranges. Pumice is very accessible, easy to use, 

and inexpensive. It contains thin membranes with enclosed air-filled cells and is naturally 

effective at absorbing shock, deflecting blasts, and preventing sympathetic detonation of 

explosives, thus reducing explosive chain reactions. The low thermal conductivity of pumice 

(it melts rather than burns at temperatures around 2,500oF) makes it an ideal fire barrier. 

Toxic Metal Removal From Storm Water 

In 2006, NAWCWD researchers invented and patented a method for removing toxic metals 

from storm water runoff to provide clean water. The treatment facility includes a pretreatment 

chamber for removing large toxic particles and an absorption chamber for removing fine 

particles of toxic metals. The absorption chamber has a bed of three absorptive materials for 

removing the fine particles. This invention can be easily adapted for use at any military or 

industrial facility. 

Sensors in Automotive Air Bags

In 1994, the Navy needed a means to accurately measure the distance traveled by the missile 

after launch, a computation necessary for arming the warhead firing device at a safe distance 

from the launch aircraft. NAWCWD China Lake engineers conceived of an extremely 

robust and precise micro-machined miniature accelerometer. Working with a Small Business 

Innovative Research contractor, NAWCWD oversaw development using microelectronic 

fabrication techniques (to ensure ease of manufacture and lower per-unit cost) and operating 

with a single power supply. The device was also designed to be resistant to variations in supply 

voltage. The resulting accelerometer was incorporated into several warhead safe-and-arming 

devices (SADs). This device subsequently transitioned into millions of automobile crashsensor air-bag-initiation systems by major foreign and domestic automobile manufacturers. 

The device is also used for hundreds of other consumer and industrial applications and is 

marketed internationally. 

Stop-Action Electromechanical Shuttered Video Cameras 

In 1975, China Lake test range personnel devised an invention to provide non-smeared 

stop-action images of high-speed video events to allow accurate position-versus-time 

measurements. This technology also reduced cost compared to high-speed film cameras. The 

method was originally developed for vidicon tube cameras, but methods to achieve the same 
 68 | Arming the Fleet

results with charge coupled device video cameras were also developed. A patent was awarded 

in 1977. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the technology was transferred to a 

commercially available multispectral video camera (a stop-action camera for sports 

training).

Supersonic Combustion Heating Apparatus 

NAWCWD researchers were awarded a patent in 2005 for an invention 

that includes a sidewall cavity with an advanced mixing system with 

ground-based oxygen injection for hypersonic materials and engine 

testing. This invention enhances kinetics, produces an increased

high-enthalpy flow source, enhances flame stability, improves 

mixing between fuel and air, and shortens chemical ignition delay, 

without the use of expensive film-cooled nozzles. In addition, the 

Navy saves an estimated $2 million for each nozzle.

Waste Incineration Technology

NAWCWD has developed and demonstrated an efficient hightemperature waste incineration technology. This technology 

allows smaller units to incinerate larger amounts of waste, 

thus using less fuel and resulting in fewer by-products than 

current commercial incineration processes. While investigating 

airbreathing (ramjet) combustion technology for aircraft and 

missile applications, NAWCWD researchers developed continuous 

computerized combustion-control technology that maximizes the 

heat and optimizes the location of combustion vortices within the 

combustor unit. This technology can be incorporated into small 

portable combustion units for on-site waste incineration, thus 

eliminating the storage and transfer costs associated with removing 

waste to central location. 

Cooperative Research and Development 

Agreements (CRADAs) 

As our adversaries have adopted increasingly innovative tactics to 

disable coalition forces and impede their mission, the DoD has turned to 

one of its greatest assets, research and development, to counter these threats. NAWCWD has 

exploited CRADAs as mission extenders to leverage the capabilities of private industry in this 

endeavor. Several of the CRADAs recently executed in conjunction with this initiative are 

addressing specific force protection requirements. Through a series of CRADAs with different 

manufacturers, for example, NAWCWD is investigating use of lightweight armor materials 

to protect the occupants of HMMWVs, while preserving the vehicles’ durability and off-road 

performance. One CRADA is investigating the feasibility of using directed energy to disable the 

electronic triggering mechanisms of IEDs, a technology that may also have potential for standoff 

detection of IED command wires. Another CRADA explores the feasibility of achieving standoff 

detection of sniper scopes and optical surveillance equipment.
Research and Engineering | 69

Since the early 1990s, the number of CRADAs at NAWCWD has continued to escalate, with 

revenues in excess of $20 million, which represented a potential cost avoidance to the Navy 

of more than $66 million. Most agreements involve military-related technology; however, 

some CRADAs involve commercial and educational projects. For example, a CRADA with 

the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), enables the transfer of specialized radar 

technology from UCSB to the Navy for the purpose of mapping ocean surface currents and wave 

heights in the vicinity of the Pacific Test Range. Another CRADA effort teams NAWCWD with 

a local medical research entity to explore the use of Navy-developed data mining and machine 

learning capabilities for medical diagnostic applications. Other significant CRADAs include a 

“TERM” ball joint seeker, integrated weapon system simulation, ESSM composite, Block IV fuze 

modification, guided Zuni rocket study, DPSS and Anti-Swimmer Grenade (ASG) development, 

counter-MANPADS research, and thermal battery research.

Commercial Service Agreements (CSAs) 

CSAs are agreements in which a government laboratory conducts testing or provides services for 

a domestic non-Federal-government customer. Under these agreements, the customer pays the 

government laboratory all direct and indirect costs incurred to accomplish the work. NAWCWD 

has authority to conduct such “fee for service” work efforts, when they are in the interest of national 

defense, under three federal statutes: Title 10 U.S.C. §§2539b, 2681, and 2563. NAWCWD is one 

of the few DoD laboratories able to work under all three statutes.
 70 | Arming the Fleet

In the performance of its military mission, NAWCWD has acquired and developed specialized 

equipment and many one-of-a-kind facilities. With the addition of this center’s dedicated scientists 

and engineers, the whole constitutes a significant scientific resource to industry. In fact, since 

the launch of NAWCWD’s CSA program in 1997, the number of CSAs has climbed to more than 

300, totaling more than $100 million. In fiscal year 2010 alone, 21 CSAs were enacted, with a 

total estimated value of $4.7 million. 

Educational Partnership Agreements (EPAs) 

EPAs provide a mechanism for local education agencies, colleges, universities, and nonprofit 

institutions dedicated to improving science, mathematics, and engineering skills to take advantage 

of NAWCWD staff’s expertise, unique facilities, and equipment related to naval warfare systems 

and technologies. A primary goal of EPAs is for NAWCWD scientists and engineers to encourage 

and facilitate early interest in the sciences and engineering by young people at all stages of their 

academic careers. EPAs provide a formal vehicle for information exchange, access to state-ofthe-art facilities and technology, and research experiences. NAWCWD has ongoing EPAs with 

Sierra Sands Unified School District and Cerro Coso Community College, which are both located 

in Ridgecrest, California, as well as with New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 

California State University Channel Islands, and California State University Northridge.

Patents With Commercial Potential 

Since the 1940s, scientists and engineers have created hundreds of inventions to solve technical 

problems associated with weapon development. From 1959 to 2010, more than 1,500 patents 

have been issued at NAWCWD. Several NAWCWD inventors hold more than 20 patents.
Providing Our Warfighters the Decisive Advantage | 71

Energy Strategy
 72 | Arming the Fleet

Energy Strategy

Rear Admiral Mathias W. Winter, NAWCWD Commander, released the NAWCWD energy 

strategy in support of Secretary of the Navy’s (SECNAV’s) energy vision. Central to this 

strategy is NAWCWD’s focus on mission-compatible energy technologies, both at 

the installation and operational level. In addition, NAWCWD looks to partner with 

industry, academia, and other DoD activities to bring new energy technologies to 

the Warfighter. Steps being taken by NAWCWD in support of the SECNAV’s 

energy goals include the following: 

• Implementing energy-efficient acquisition policies. NAWCWD is 

answering the call by using energy-efficient products and manufacturing 

capabilities.

• Sailing the “Great Green Fleet.” NAWCWD is conducting RDT&E 

of biofuels and advanced fuel technologies. Additionally, biomaterial 

technologies to replace petroleum-based plastics and materials are being 

developed in the laboratories. The goal is to power jet, tactical, and nontactical assets with biofuels by 2020. 

• Reducing non-tactical petroleum use 50% by 2015. Remote range 

photovoltaic power, biofuel-powered generators, and advanced energy 

storage systems will replace diesel generators. 

• Increasing alternative energy ashore 50% by 2020. Advancements 

at the Coso geothermal power plant have resulted in the generation of 

200 megawatts per year of clean energy, and solar roofs throughout 

the Command are decreasing electric usage dramatically. A large solar 

farm at China Lake is in development. 

• Increasing total alternative energy usage by 50% by 2020. A new 

Mission Compatibility Analysis Tool has been produced to characterize 

alternative energy developments around DoD installations. “Stealth” wind 

technology is being researched in conjunction with industry and academic partners, 

and smart metering initiatives are under way. Facilities and remote operations have solar photovoltaic 

installations to increase alternative energy generation.

RDT&E of Energy Technologies

Biofuel Research

Rear Admiral Mathias W. Winter signed a CRADA with Cobalt Technologies,Inc., a Bay Area company, 

for the development of a Navy biofuel. Biomass waste could soon be transformed into the bio-jet fuel 

of choice. Research chemists at China Lake have developed proprietary processes for converting the 

sugar alcohol n-butanol (which is harvested from plant waste material) into jet and diesel fuel.
Energy Strategy | 73

Renewable Energy Technologies

NAWCWD, with industrial and academic partners, is developing next-generation energy solutions 

for the Warfighter in the areas of advanced energy storage and generation technologies to harvest the 

power of the sun and water, solar generation systems to support expeditionary and tactical operations, 

micro-grid technologies to increase installation and operational energy security, and technologies to 

convert waste streams into energy and power, as well as pioneering the cutting-edge fields of solarpowered and biofuel-powered UxS.

Geothermal Energy

Today, the Coso geothermal power plant is a world-class Navy resource, with total savings to 

NAWCWD exceeding $36 million. The Coso geothermal power plant produces enough power for 

330,000+ homes. Scientists at China Lake were assigned the lead role for Navy geothermal efforts, 

even those not geographically limited to China Lake. As environmental concerns continue to shift 

toward “greener” power sources worldwide, geothermal technology will stay at the forefront to supply 

energy by using the earth’s inner heat.
 74 | Arming the Fleet

Other Energy Initiatives

Solar Farm at Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island, located 30 miles off the coast of Point Mugu, has three photovoltaic 

systems providing power to remote facilities. One of these is a 150-kilowatt battery 

system that provides power to radar and communication equipment. In addition, a 

second photovoltaic system provides power to pump water to the highest point on 

the island, which is located 8.5 miles from the water well, and a third project 

includes a 30-kilowatt portable photovoltaic and battery system.

Photovoltaic Carports and Other Solar Thermal Projects 

New photovoltaic carports and other solar thermal projects save the Navy 

more than $1 million annually. These projects were sponsored by an 

award from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with 

the intent of reducing the carbon footprint and energy consumption of 

the base. Very large carport-mounted solar photovoltaic structures were 

installed in three of the largest parking lots on base, including those at 

Michelson Laboratory (155 kilowatts), Armitage Field (248 kilowatts), 

and Range Headquarters (230 kilowatts). The solar systems supply power 

to the buildings and feed energy back into the power grid when there is 

excess electricity produced. All the solar photovoltaic projects at China 

Lake combined should generate approximately 1 megawatt of annual 

renewable energy.

Project for 750-Kilowatt Molten Carbonate 

Fuel Cell Demonstrator at Marine Corps Base (MCB) 

Camp Pendleton

Integral to the renewable energy strategy, NAWCWD’s Renewable 

Energy Laboratory is often called upon by other DoD partners to provide 

expertise and consultation regarding energy technology RDT&E. As 

an example, the 750-kilowatt fuel cell demonstration at Camp Pendleton 

was spearheaded by NAWCWD’s scientists and engineers. The system 

provides base load power and heat, with environmental and energy security 

benefits.
Energy Strategy | 75

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Project at China Lake

NAWCWD engineers have been demonstrating new ways to store energy for use at night. Instead of 

acid-based batteries, the system is built around a hydrogen fuel cell. Electricity generated during the 

day powers an electrolyzer to generate hydrogen fuel from water. When the sun is no longer generating 

electricity in the panels, the fuel cell kicks in to generate power from the stored hydrogen. Currently, 

the Renewable Energy Laboratory at China Lake is optimizing the system to increase efficiency and 

reduce costs.
 76 | Arming the Fleet

First and foremost, energy conservation extends tactical range of our forces while also preserving 

precious resources. Our goal, as a Navy, is to be an ‘early adopter’ of new technologies that enhance 

national security in an environmentally sustainable way. 

—Rear Admiral Philip Cullom

Director of the Chief of Naval Operations Energy 

and Environmental Readiness Division
Naval Air Warfare Center

Weapons Division

China Lake and Point Mugu

California

NAWCWD TS 10-102

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited