Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division Official NAWCWD page. NAWCWD represents excellence in weapons RDAT&E Welcome to the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division page.

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The final exam was a poster board and a room full of senior leaders.Last week, On June 2 and 3, 74 of our people present...
06/15/2026

The final exam was a poster board and a room full of senior leaders.

Last week, On June 2 and 3, 74 of our people presented their Leadership EDGE capstone projects at Point Mugu and China Lake, then walked straight into graduation.

After 18 months and more than 210 hours of training, they turned theory into working solutions for building high-performing teams and simplifying how we plan.

"Investing in your growth is one of the most significant contributions that you can make," Genesis Johnson, NAWCWD chief of staf/operations, told the graduates.

We can't predict what this year and beyond will bring. But we know who's going to lead us through it.

The next application cycle opens in August.

⬇️Full story in the comments.

In 1985, he rode his bike to the county center and got himself legally emancipated. Then he went to work.By 17, David Ko...
06/14/2026

In 1985, he rode his bike to the county center and got himself legally emancipated. Then he went to work.

By 17, David Koger was running the McDonald’s grill across from what is now Naval Base Ventura County.

One day on a break, he watched Sailors come and go in uniform through the gate.

They had a purpose. So did he. He just had to find where it would take him.

It took him through 21 years in the U.S. Navy, from submarines to an aircraft carrier feeding 20,000 meals a day, to the Seabees.

Then to Point Mugu as a civilian.

Koger now works F-35 electronic warfare logistics and helps prepare the next generation of acquisition professionals.

35 years in, he's still doing what that 17-year-old was looking for: work that has purpose.

⬇️ Full story in comments.

In a San Fernando Valley backyard, a kid pointed a plastic telescope at the night sky. The stars came in as big fuzzy bl...
06/13/2026

In a San Fernando Valley backyard, a kid pointed a plastic telescope at the night sky. The stars came in as big fuzzy blobs. He couldn't see much.

It didn't matter.

Mike Hutson has spent 35 years doing what that telescope never could: taking something fuzzy and bringing it into focus.

The F-14. Electronic warfare. The Trident missile. Now the Sea Range's new live, virtual and constructive lab.

That focus helps turn complex test problems into capabilities the fleet can trust.

⬇️ Full story in comments.

To prove its heat-seeker, China Lake fired it at a jet against the hottest background short of the sun. in 1955, a Chin...
06/12/2026

To prove its heat-seeker, China Lake fired it at a jet against the hottest background short of the sun.

in 1955, a China Lake team flew the Sidewinder to Holloman Air Force Base to face the Air Force's own missile, the Falcon.

At high noon, Sidewinder dove toward the blinding white sand. It locked on and hit the drone.

The Falcon never got a shot off. Its safety interlocks needed perfect conditions, and run after run, they never came.

And the Air Force adopted the Sidewinder, and 71 years later China Lake's missile is still flying across the services.

China Lake developed a missile good enough to win everyone over, and that same drive still powers the mission today.

A poster hung outside a Pentagon office. A soldier gripping a hand gr***de. The words: “I hope this works.”The thought t...
06/11/2026

A poster hung outside a Pentagon office. A soldier gripping a hand gr***de.

The words: “I hope this works.”

The thought terrified Kevin Gross. And it motivated him.

Gross flew AV-8B Harriers in Desert Storm and led V-22 Osprey developmental testing. Now he directs NAWCWD's Threat Target Systems Department.

40 years in, his work targets one outcome: no warfighter wondering if their systems will work in the fight.

⬇️ Full story in comments.

At sea, a system you can't check is a system you can't trust.The gear that does the checking has to be right, complete a...
06/10/2026

At sea, a system you can't check is a system you can't trust.

The gear that does the checking has to be right, complete and on time. For years it wasn't. The data moved to the fleet on disks, once a quarter, and often arrived stale.

So a NAWCWD team led by Cory McCullough rebuilt it. Their system replaced a manual process making 30 errors a week and cut some timelines from weeks to minutes.

It earned NAVSEA's top metrology and calibration honor.

"The next step is getting every Sailor the right data the second it changes, not months later,” McCullough said. “That's what keeps the fleet ready to fight.”

⬇️ Full story in the comments.

Two four-star fleet commanders visited NAWCWD last week.Adm. Steve Koehler, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, touched dow...
06/09/2026

Two four-star fleet commanders visited NAWCWD last week.

Adm. Steve Koehler, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, touched down in China Lake. On the tour, he saw firsthand how NAWCWD is helping to equip the air wing of the future.

Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, visited Point Mugu where he learned about NAWCWD's support for fleet testing, training, and operations.

They lead the fleets. And the work that keeps the fleet ready runs through WD.

She trained to be a dancer.Now she helps decide when the Navy can fire over the ocean.Gina Perez started at Point Mugu i...
06/09/2026

She trained to be a dancer.

Now she helps decide when the Navy can fire over the ocean.

Gina Perez started at Point Mugu in 1985 as a GS-3 clerk typist. Today, she helps make sure Sea Range tests can happen while protecting the marine life below.

In one 2008 test, Perez spotted a young fin whale circling the target site.

She keyed the radio.

“You're not going to shoot. We have a whale at the target site.”

For 45 minutes, the launch waited.

A second, larger whale moved in. The mother had found her calf.

Years later, the photo still hangs near her office.

⬇️Full story in the comments

Almost everything around the VX-31 Dust Devils’ mission changed.New hangar. New commander. Saying farewell to the AV-8B ...
06/08/2026

Almost everything around the VX-31 Dust Devils’ mission changed.

New hangar. New commander. Saying farewell to the AV-8B Harrier. And a new unmanned systems department.

Despite the transitions, the Dust Devils got safer.

That safety culture earned VX-31 the CNO Aviation Safety Award for fiscal 2025, its seventh since 2003.

Overall aviation mishaps dropped 19%. Ground operation mishaps dropped 78%.

VX-31 helps prove aircraft, sensors and weapons before the fleet takes them into the fight.

⬇️Full story in comments.

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They came by the school bus load to watch a president land at Point Mugu. in 1963, President John F. Kennedy saw both o...
06/07/2026

They came by the school bus load to watch a president land at Point Mugu.

in 1963, President John F. Kennedy saw both our gates in one afternoon.

He flew in from USS Kitty Hawk after a Sea Range weapons demonstration and touched down at Point Mugu, where crowds lined up behind the barricades. One boy held up his own hand-lettered sign: “1st Pres. in 60 yrs to come see us…Thanks.”

Before he left, the president told the crowd: “Seeing the military forces of the United States here on the West Coast, I go back to Washington with the feeling of renewed pride in being an American.”

Then he flew inland to China Lake. A-4 Skyhawks rolled in with Snakeye and na**lm while the president watched. China Lake’s commander, Capt. Charles Blenman, presented him with a Shrike model, with Technical Director Dr. William B. McLean looking on.

For one afternoon, the whole country was looking at the high desert and the coast.

And by the boy’s count, the next president wouldn’t come around until he was an old man.

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