Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
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{{Infobox Airport
| name = NAWS China Lake
| nativename = Armitage Field
| image = NAWS-ChinaLake.jpg
| image-width = 149
| IATA = <!--not NID-->
| ICAO = KNID
| FAA = NID
| type = Military
| owner =
| operator = [[United States Navy]]
| location = [[China Lake]], [[California]]
| built =
| used = 1943 - present
| commander = Capt. Mark G. Storch
| occupants =
| elevation-f = 2,283
| elevation-m = 696
| coordinates = {{coord|35|41|08|N|117|41|31|W|type:airport|display=inline}}
| website =
| r1-number = 3/21
| r1-length-f = 9,993
| r1-length-m = 3,046
| r1-surface = [[PEM]]
| r2-number = 8/26
| r2-length-f = 7,702
| r2-length-m = 2,348
| r2-surface = PEM
| r3-number = 14/32
| r3-length-f = 9,013
| r3-length-m = 2,747
| r3-surface = PEM
| footnotes = Source: [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref name=FAA>{{FAA-airport|ID=NID|use=PR|own=MN|site=01397.7*A}}, effective 2007-07-05</ref>
}}
{{otheruses2|China Lake}}
[[Image:NID - FAA airport diagram.gif|thumb|left|210px|right|FAA Airport Diagram]]
[[Image:China lake.jpg|thumb|210px|right|NASA satellite photo showing the main runways at NAWS China Lake]]
'''Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake''' or '''NAWS China Lake''' {{Airport codes||KNID|NID}} is an airborne weapons testing and training range operated by the [[United States Navy]] and its contractors. It is located in the northeast of [[California]]'s [[Mojave Desert]] in northwestern [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]], southwestern [[Inyo County, California|Inyo County]], and northeastern [[Kern County, California|Kern County]].
== Background ==
The main airfield, '''Armitage Field''', is situated several miles from China Lake itself, an [[endorheic basin]] from which the range takes its name.<ref>[http://gc.kls2.com/airport/KNID Great Circle Mapper: KNID - Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (Armitage Field)]</ref> 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, comprising 1.1 million acres (4500 km²), approximately one-third (1/3) of the US Navy's total land holdings in the world, and the airspace controlled jointly by the NAWS, [[Edwards Air Force Base]] and [[Fort Irwin Military Reservation|Fort Irwin]] is the largest in the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] known as the [[R-2508 Special Use Airspace Complex]].
According to the California State Military Museum Web site, the land, ranging in altitude from 2,100 to 8,900 feet (640 to 2700 m), varies from flat dry lake beds to rugged [[piñon pine]]-covered mountains.<ref>[http://www.militarymuseum.org/NAFInyokern.html#c Historic California Posts: Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake]</ref> The majority of the land is undeveloped and provides habitat for more than 340 species of wildlife and 650 plant types.
== Geographical history ==
[[Image:NATS China Lake Armitage Field NAN7-47.jpg|thumb|NATS China Lake in the mid-1940s]]
The area was once also home to Native Americans, whose presence here is marked by thousands of archaeological sites, and to early miners and settlers whose cabins and mining structures are still found scattered throughout the Station. Among the notable archaeological sites is the National Park Service's [[Coso Rock Art District]], an area of some {{convert|99|mi2|km2}} which contains more than 20,000 documented petroglyphs.<ref>[http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/ROCKART/ NPS Archeology Program: Coso Rock Art]</ref>
The rock art district was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 2001.<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=115&ResourceType=Site
|title=Coso Rock Art District |accessdate=2007-11-17|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
Historically rich, NAWS traces its heritage to the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) established at nearby [[Inyokern, California|Inyokern]] in 1943 as a joint navy/civilian facility, and the first civilian director was [[L.T.E. Thompson]] ("Dr. Tommy"). Since then it has been one of the US Navy's premier weapons development facilities and continues to support the US fleet. A number of preserved B-29 bombers in museums were reclaimed from target airframes stored on the ranges here in the 1950s.
Inventions tested and refined at China Lake include the [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]] missile, the [[AGM-62 Walleye]] TV-guided glide bomb, the [[AGM-45 Shrike]] antiradar missile, the [[AIM-95 Agile]] missile, the [[AGM-122 Sidearm]] antiradar missile, the [[AGM-123 Skipper]] laser-guided missile, the [[lightstick]], and the [[continuous-rod warhead]].
One of the world's largest [[geothermal power]] plants is located at China Lake at the [[Coso Geothermal Field]]. The installation currently produce 270 [[megawatt]]s from four geothermal power plants. 166 wells have been drilled throughout the field, with production depths from 2,000 to 12,000 feet (610 to 3,700 m), and temperatures from 200° to 350°C. Coso began generating electricity in 1987.
{{portal|United States Navy|United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
;Official sites
*[http://www.navair.navy.mil/ NAVAIR Home]
*[http://www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/ NAVAIR Weapons Division]
*[http://www.vx9.navy.mil/ Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine]
*[http://www.nawcwd.navy.mil/vx31/ Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Thirty One]
;Other
*[http://www.chinalakemuseum.org/clmf/ U.S. Naval Museum of Armament & Technology]
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/china-lake.htm China Lake] at [[GlobalSecurity.org]]
*[http://www.astronautix.com/sites/chialake.htm China Lake] at Astronautix
*{{Wikimapia|35.6855|-117.692|13|NAWS China Lake}}
*{{FAA-diagram|00914|NAWS China Lake}}
*{{US-airport-mil|NID|-}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:China Lake, Air Weapons Station}}
[[Category:Military facilities in the Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:United States Navy bases]]
[[Category:United States naval air stations]]
[[Category:Airports in California]]
[[Category:San Bernardino County, California]]
[[fr:Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake]]
[[lmo:Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake]]