The desert laboratory where the world's most-used missile was born

Wars & Conflicts · Published 16 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Hidden in the Mojave Desert lies a military installation so vast it exceeds the size of Rhode Island. It is the primary forge for American naval weaponry, where everything from the Sidewinder missile to the bombs of the Manhattan Project was tested in the silence of the high desert.

Occupying 38% of the global territory owned by the United States Navy, Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake constitutes its biggest individual land parcel and houses 85% of the service's weapons research space. Spanning over 1,100,000 acres, the facility serves as a critical hub for the research, development, acquisition, testing, and evaluation of armaments. Its isolation in the Western Mojave Desert provides the 'near-perfect' flying weather and visibility required for high-stakes military testing. The site's history is intertwined with some of the 20th century's most significant technological leaps. During World War II, it served as a proving ground for aviation ordnance and a site for Project Camel, where the Manhattan Project funded the testing of bomb shapes dropped from B-29 Superfortress bombers. In 1950, scientists at the station developed the AIM-9 Sidewinder, which became the world's most widely used and copied air-to-air missile.

Other notable weapons tested here include the JDAM, HARM, and the Zuni rocket. Beyond modern warfare, the land holds deep cultural and ecological significance. With a density of rock art surpassing any other site in the Northern Hemisphere, the Coso Rock Art District holds upwards of 50,000 recorded petroglyphs estimated to date from 1,000 to 3,000 years ago. The base also hosts the Coso Geothermal Field, which began producing clean electricity in 1987, marking the Navy's first foray into geothermal power. Today, it balances these legacies with a massive infrastructure of 2,132 buildings and a workforce of over 6,000 military, civilian, and contract employees.

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