By Carolanne Sacry Feiste

In June 2002, U.S. and coalition forces were cautiously combing the mountainsides of Afghanistan in Operation Mountain Lion, checking caves and tunnels for booby traps, tunnel stability, air stability (methane gases), weapons and munitions, and enemy hideouts.

This war prompted a search for a potential stateside tunnel-warfare training. The search resulted in the concept of a joint-tunnel-warfare capability at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif.

NAVAIR offered a timely opportunity for armed forces to train within the U.S. for the real-life scenarios faced in the Afghanistan desert.

NAVAIR China Lake offered the highest standard in warfare technology – providing weapons development, tactics development, and training for ground and air forces, as well as for the intelligence communities of the U.S. and its allies during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Their land ranges included over 300 long-abandoned mines and tunnel complexes of various configurations and maps of their interiors. Most of the mines were very stable, having withstood a great deal of seismic activity – all of them at a weapons-development facility operated by people with the knowledge, expertise and experience to assist in training scenarios.

Located at the same latitude as Kabul, Afghanistan, China Lake provided strikingly comparable landscape– including similar bushes, trees, tunnel entrances and rocks as those found in Afghanistan.

NAVAIR China Lake is known for its strong, world-class technical weapons-development capabilities – everything needed to train people, develop strategy, and test technologies developed for tunnel warfare – within an isolated Mojave Desert location.

One training tactic used was the Laser Guided Training Round (LGTR). The LGTR was developed to simulate a laser-guided bomb. Using the LGTR, aircrews practiced firing on targets similar to those seen in the desert terrain of Afghanistan. With no intention of destroying these reusable assets, aircrews simulated strike missions using the mines at China Lake, without blowing anything up. A smoke dispenser visually indicated the hit. Kneeboard cards (which carry flight and targeting information) were developed for F/A-18 pilots to use when employing the training rounds against tunnels.

Demonstrated by Naval Weapons Test Squadron VX-31, the Fleet Developmental Weapons Symposium paricipants witnessed a “bull’s-eye hit” on the laser reflector that had been placed beside the tunnel and designated by a ground-based laser. For pre-deployment laser-targeting training, Fleet aviators could utilize China Lake and train against tunnel targets analogous to those against which they may be flying strike missions.

With mine interior configurations similar to those in Afghanistan, China Lake offered tremendous training opportunities for ground troops. China Lake’s mines with bunkers, vertical shafts, and multi-level tunnel complexes were amazingly similiar to ones in Afghanistan.

As the ultimate technology provider for naval aviation technologies, NAVAIR again responded to a warfighter need – with the highly specialized geographic configuration of tunnels– ensuring the necessary training and skill development to better equip U.S. and coalition forces.

Photo credits -

Photo 1 - Members of the Naval Weapons Test Squadron VX-31 at a Fleet Developmental Weapons Symposium, China Lake, Calif., witnessed a “bull’s-eye hit” on the laser reflector that had been placed beside a tunnel at NAVAIR's tunnel warfare center and designated by a ground-based laser.

Photo 2 - Kandahar, Afghanistan (Jan. 15, 2002) – U.S. Marines from Battalion Landing Team 3/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) discovered a series of tunnels after intruders were seen in the vicinity of the adobe structures situated above the tunnels. The structures were destroyed and the tunnels collapsed by the Marines. USMC Photo by Lance Cpl Nathan E. Eason