NASA satellite photo showing the main runways at NAWS China Lake

The Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS China Lake) is an airborne weapons testing and training range operated by the United States Navy and its contractors. Download high resolution version (1280x948, 1173 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1280x948, 1173 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

It is located at 35°41′ N 117°40′ W (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=35_41_N_117_40_W_), in the northeast of California's Mojave Desert. The main airfield, Armitage Field, is situated several miles southeast of China Lake itself, a playa lake from which the range takes its name. It is the home base of several tenant commands, including the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD). NAWS China Lake is the US Navy's largest single holding of land, and the airspace controlled jointly by the NAWS, Edwards Air Force Base, and Fort Irwin is the largest in the Department of Defense. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Mojave Desert The Mojave or Mohave Desert occupies a significant portion of Southern California and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. ... The shores of Lake Hart, an endorheic desert lake in South Australia In geography, an endorheic basin is a watershed from which there is no outflow of water (either on the surface as rivers, or underground by flow or diffusion through rock or permeable material). ... Edwards Air Force Base is a base located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, northeast of Lancaster, at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home for flight research and testing and has... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ...

Historically rich, NAWS traces its heritage to the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) established at nearby Inyokern in 1943. Since then it has been one of the US Navy's premier weapons development facilities and continues to support the US fleet. Inyokern is a census-designated place located in Kern County, California. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ...

Inventions crucial to the overall U.S. dominance of air combat is the invention of the Sidewinder Missle at China Lake and to the chagrin of the Pentagon, the "China Lake Way."

External links

• NAVAIR Weapons Division (http://www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/)
• Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (http://www.nawcwd.navy.mil/%7eVX9/)
• Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Thirty One (http://www.nawcwd.navy.mil/%7Evx31/)
• NAVAIR Home (http://www.navair.navy.mil/)
• Global Security's page on China Lake (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/china-lake.htm)
• Astronautix' page on China Lake (http://www.astronautix.com/sites/chialake.htm)