NAWCWD also operates a number of labs and other facilities conducting research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) on improvements to existing weapons systems and next generation weapons across a broad spectrum of naval missions, from electronic warfare and unmanned systems to supersonic ordnance and systems integration.
Those include:
Advanced Weapons Laboratory (AWL) – From its unique dual towers at China Lake, the 127,000-square-foot AWL integrates common avionics, EW systems, electro-optical/infrared and reconnaissance systems, ground support equipment, mission and subsystem software, and radars and weapons to improve the warfighting capability of the F/A-18 and EA-18G weapons systems and put multiple systems in theater to meet urgent operational requirements. Those include advanced infrared systems, digital radios, new data links, improved weapons, and upgraded systems software. With new products constantly coming on line, AWL’s flexibility makes it adept at modifying laboratory, aircraft, and range equipment and procedures to suit particular requirements. Recent examples include the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, the latest versions of the AIM-9X and AIM-120 AMRAAM, upgrades to the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, and the Multifunctional Information Distribution System.
Matt Lotts, left, head of the Pacific Targets and Marine Operations Division of Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in Point Mugu, California, discusses the BQM-74E unmanned target’s capabilities and limitations with Rear Adm. Victorino Mercado, director, assessment division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, second left, his science adviser Gary Shaffer, second right, and Rich Burr, NAWCWD director of Threat/Target Systems Department, during a tour in October 2015. U.S. Navy photo
Aerial Threat and Surface Targets Facilities – As battlespace requirements have grown more complex, these facilities continue to provide warfighters with advanced technology threat representative targets, EW systems, and adaptive training environments in air, sea, and land domains and support global live, virtual, and constructive threat presentations for testing and evaluation, warfighter experimentation, mission rehearsal, and fleet training. Point Mugu is the only location operating all current subsonic and supersonic aerial targets, along with various seaborne targets including the Aerial Target Launch Ship.
Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Facilities – Comprising 32,000 square feet of classified laboratory space at Point Mugu, the center of Navy AEA RDT&E since 1968, these labs enable warfighters to detect, analyze, attack, and defeat electronic threats through complete AEA and electronic support systems integration, test, and life cycle support. During 15 years of warfare in Southwest Asia, they have provided EW database intelligence, information warfare, and electronic upgrades; helped JDAM achieve initial capability on fleet aircraft, and improved radar warning receivers, jammers, chaff, and decoys. New AEA techniques include agile spot and deceptive jamming, overhead sensor correlation for real-time “order of battle” awareness, and electronic surveillance and correlation.
Electronic Warfare Facilities – An EW Center of Excellence and EW mission area leader within the Naval Aviation Enterprise team, these multiple EW components develop and evaluate active and passive EW systems and associated embedded software, investigate new systems and concepts during developmental T&E, perform in-service engineering support for EW systems software, EW suite integration and pre-/post-flight checkout and troubleshooting. These unique facilities focus on enabling the joint warfighter to dominate the electronic spectrum, and have supported aircraft in every major conflict for the past three decades.
A key facility for testing future supersonic weaponry, SNORT comprises a 4-mile-long, dual-rail, precision-alignment track to test rockets, guided missiles, model and full-scale aircraft, and components under free-flight conditions at subsonic through supersonic velocities.
Explosive and Propellants Laboratories (EPL) – Used to continue U.S. munitions dominance by developing and demonstrating safer, higher power and more robust explosives and propellants, EPL provides ordnance assessment and other direct fleet support from one of the largest lab complexes of its kind. A diverse, one-stop facility to develop and scale-up energetic chemicals, explosives, and propellant formulations to improve warheads, bombs, and solid rocket motors, EPL’s ongoing research is funded by the Joint Fuze Technology Program, the Joint Insensitive Munitions Technology Program, the Insensitive Munitions Advanced Development Program, the Office of Naval Research Advanced Energetics Program, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Advanced Energetics Program, and the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program.
Integrated Battlespace Arena (IBAR) – Comprising nine interconnected laboratories and facilities, IBAR provides advanced simulation and analysis of any aircraft, weapon, target, or terrain with unparalleled fidelity, flexibility, and dependability, with the information it uses and creates datalinked through fiber optic, SIPRNET, Ethernet, or microwave telecommunication with any ground, air, or sea platform. During the wars in Southwest Asia, a geo-referenced database developed by IBAR registered and correlated tactical imagery terrain models to help counter the enemy’s radio-controlled IEDs and enhance coalition EW and unmanned systems.