PREVIEW

AssetID: 35670337

Headline: Explosive Scenes Show Where America Tests Its Weapons

Caption: Prepare to drop your jaw: this is where America spends all those tax dollars to BLOW STUFF UP. These explosive scenes show the results of the U.S. Military's 2017/18 weapons tests at China Lake, in California’s Mojave Desert. Eye-popping footage includes missiles in all shapes and sizes destroying cars, trucks, boats and buildings. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) is tasked with testing the capilities of equipment used by naval aviation aircraft, including weapons and systems operated by sailors and marines. They perform research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E), logistics, and in-service support for guided missiles, free-fall weapons, targets, support equipment, crew systems and electronic warfare. These scenes were revealed as China Lake, home to NAVAIR’s Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), celebrated its 75th anniversary, having been first established on 8 Nov, 1943. NAWCWD explain: "Few areas in the world offer such wide variety of geographical features in close proximity...mountains, deserts, canyons, caves and forests. The unencroached air and land ranges at China Lake provide unmatched geographic conditions in which to develop and test weapon systems and explore tactics for desert and mountain environments." China Lake provides efficient deployment of new weapon systems through its collocated laboratories, ranges, weapons test squadrons and the Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX-9). China Lake encompasses more than 1.1 million acres, with one airfield accessing 17,000 square miles of restricted airspace over land. The restricted airspace, jointly managed with Edwards Air Force Base and Fort Irwin, encompasses 12% of California’s total airspace and feature more than 2,000 buildings.

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