An F/A-18 Hornet raced low across the China Lake desert during a simulated terrain collision. Seconds later, the jet pulled up and climbed to safety. The recovery proved the Automatic Terrain Awareness and Warning System could take over when a pilot no longer has time to respond.

The recovery was part of a joint test program by the “Dust Devils” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 31 at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, in partnership with the “Salty Dogs” of VX-23 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

Gabriel Soto and his friends built model aircraft in the late 1970s. Military ones. F-4 Phantoms, F-14 Tomcats, F-16 Fighting Falcons. You name it.

They glued extra weapons on them, more bombs, more rockets, until the aircraft carried impossible loads. In bedroom battles, nothing detonated by accident. Nothing ever killed the pilot.

Forty-five years later, 90 miles from that Barstow bedroom in China Lake, Soto makes sure real weapons never detonate until they're supposed to.

His mission is keeping the pilot safe.

Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 31, the Dust Devils, concluded the AV-8B Harrier’s service with a sundown ceremony Sept. 23, when the squadron flew the jet for the final time and shut it down on the China Lake flight line. 

The final sortie, flown by Jim “Jimbo” Coppersmith, VX-31 technical director, brought veterans, Sailors, Marines, government civilians, industry partners and family members to the flight line to watch a traditional water salute and to say goodbye to a platform that served the fleet for more than four decades. 

Ridgecrest, California, April 1968.

The Hideaway grilled ribeyes while longnecks sweated in the desert heat. DJ's filled in after dark, boots scuffing the floorboards. The place had country western history. Before the hits, Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens played there. Across town, the China Lake Tavern ran poker games deep into the desert night.

Dr. Gary Hewer arrived from Washington State University in Pullman. The 26-year-old mathematician from Letcher, South Dakota, drove past the bars and into the desert, stepping through the gates of the Naval Ordnance Test Station.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division celebrated a major milestone Sept. 23, 2025, cutting the ribbon on the new Range Control Complex at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.

Delivered by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest and its Resident Officer in Charge of Construction China Lake, the state-of-the-art complex consists of four separate facilities that will serve as NAWCWD’s operational hub for range testing and evaluation, directly supporting their mission to deliver cutting-edge capabilities to the Fleet.

An innovative solution from China Lake is helping U.S. and coalition pilots counter modern air defense threats. It also saves time, money and resources.

Engineers from the Aircrew Electronic Warfare Tactical Training Ranges Integrated Product Team repurposed old cabling to build a new Type V electrical harness. This harness is for the SA-08 radar system, a surface-to-air weapon used in tests and training. It activates radar warning receivers in tactical aircraft.

Anthony Briones remembers the T-shirt. A coworker at the Ready Missile Test Facility wore it years ago. On the shirt, an ordnance tech sprints with the caption, "If you see me running, follow me."

Dark humor masks deadly reality. Ordnance technicians get no second chances.

In 35 years, Briones has never had to run.

"I have been faithful to my job. I followed the rules and lived up to our standards," Briones said.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division leaders, joined by Naval Surface Warfare Center - Port Hueneme Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, and Naval Base Ventura County leaders, cut the ribbon Aug. 20 on a new facility at San Nicolas Island that doubles the command’s capacity for launching supersonic targets on the Point Mugu Sea Range.

One graduate dreams of semi-pro volleyball glory. Another plans a motorcycle journey to Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Circle. A third uses AI to clone his voice and read the entire Bible in Vietnamese, while a fourth looks forward to his honeymoon in Japan this year.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division celebrated these future innovators and 83 others at graduation ceremonies July 29 at China Lake and Aug. 12 at Point Mugu.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division operates with one mission: to give American warfighters the weapons to win.

But weapons don't design themselves. Electronic warfare systems don't develop on their own to counter new threats. Testing capabilities for hypersonic systems don't just appear out of nowhere.

They come from people. The right people. With the right skills. At the right time.

And every August, Catherine Kreidt makes sure NAWCWD gets them.