Naval Air Warfare Weapons Division Opens New Test Site at China Lake, California

The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) at China Lake, California reports that it has opened a new airstrip for use in testing unmanned aircraft like the the Raytheon Cobra, the aircraft that was, in fact, the first to lift off from the new field.

The US Navy is intent on developing such aircraft for a number of reasons. They can stay in an area longer than planes with pilots because there is no pilot fatigue. No pilot also means that the weight saved makes the craft lighter, or at least allows the aircraft to carry an extra payload or extra fuel for longer range flight. Unmanned craft can make more radical maneuvers than piloted craft because the destructive effect of g-forces on the human body is not a factor. Finally, while human pilots bravely take extreme risks, unmanned craft can be sacrificed without the loss of the pilot's life. If there is a pilot, s/he is sitting in a trailer on the ground, viewing events through a series of monitors.

The Cobra is a small Unmanned System (US), and Raytheon is working on developing standardized parts and high integration of systems between it and other USs. Interoperability with other companies in the field is important, as the Navy will buy from a variety of sources.

China Lake has the airstrip, located near Armitage Field, a testing lab, a mobile command and control lab, and other facilities for testing the craft.

Andy Corzine, a representative of China Lake, said "We have a long legacy of skilled engineers at China Lake with vast amounts of experience in weapons related work across the kill chain."

The "kill chain" consists of well defined stages in finding and hitting a target, Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, and Assess. Finding means just that, noticing a target at all. Fixing means locating exactly where it is. Tracking means following its movements. Engaging means firing at it, and Assess means figuring out whether or not you hit the target and what damage was done.

That unmanned systems or even roboticized, automated systems are doing this is revolutionary.

The US Navy will eventually acquire a new aircraft, the P-8A anti-sub plane, that, with its human crew, will be able to operate various drones and unmanned craft. It will give the Navy a very long reach and outstanding intelligence gathering abilities, so interoperability means not just coordination between drones, but between drones and pilots or crew members of other planes.

China Lake Opens New Airstrip, Renee Hatcher, NAWCWD