China Lake Weapons Digest
Source: Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (Originally prepared for the 50th anniversary edition
of The Rocketeer, China Lake's in-house newspaper, 4 Nov. 1993.)
"When given a certain amount of freedom within an
atmosphere of technical expertise, available facilities for basic
RDT&E, and close operating relationships with the military community,
the individual and corporate creativity characteristic of the
laboratory community can arise to resolve operational problems and
meet military needs and to lay the groundwork for further
developments. . . ."
ROCKETS
Aircraft rockets were China Lake's raison d'etre at its
establishment. The early forward-firing aircraft rockets developed by
the CalTech-NOTS team included the 3.5- and 5.0-Inch Aircraft Rockets;
the 5.0-Inch High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket, Holy Moses; and the
11.75-inch Tiny Tim. Early China Lake products also included
spin-stabilized bombardment rockets and special-purpose rockets that
were used for everything from propelling line charges to sampling
atomic clouds. Folding-fin aircraft rockets (FFARs) are another highly
successful China Lake product; literally millions of the 2.75-inch
Mighty Mouse and 5.0-inch Zuni have been fired in combat. Related work
by China Lake includes the development of the BOMROC system and
several rocket-assisted projectiles (RAPs); work on RAPs evolved over
the years to include extended-range guided projectiles, such as the
Antiradiation Projectile (ARP). China Lake's rocketry
expertise--propulsion, warheads, airframes, aerodynamics, ballistics,
launchers, fire-control, etc.--was also instrumental in establishing
its guided missile programs.
FREE-FALL WEAPONS
The "Eye" Series of free-fall weapons (originally
targeted with an "iron bombsite and a Mk 1 eyeball") began with a
late-'50s China Lake study that showed the need for improved
conventional weapons. NOTS developed a family of weapons during the
1960s that included the well-known Snakeye fin-retarded bomb (Mk 81
and Mk 82 GP bombs) and the Rockeye II antitank/material cluster
weapon Mk 20, which has provided the basis for other dispenser weapons
such as the current Gator mine-delivery system. The Eye series also
included the Sadeye, Rockeye I, and Gladeye dispenser weapons; Fireye
gelled-fuel weapon; Briteye balloon-borne flare; and Deneye antitank
mine-dispenser system--as well as some special-purpose weapons,
submunitions, fuzes, launchers, and supporting systems. Follow-on work
included design and development for the Advanced Bomb Family.
China Lake also developed and applied the technology of Fuel-Air
Explosive (FAE) Weapons, from grenades to 2,000-pound FAE II bombs
(BLU-96/B). FAE I (CBU-55/72) was deployed in 1970, and further
developments have included surface-launched mine-clearing systems
(SLU-FAE and CATFAE)
GUIDED MISSILES
Nearly every guided missile in the U.S. Inventory today
owes a major debt to China Lake R&D efforts in sensors, guidance,
control, fuzing, propulsion, warheads, and materials technology. China
Lake has made significant contributions to every aspect of guided
missile technology and development.
Sidewinder is certainly China Lake's best-known success, although far
from being its only one. Although guided missiles were originally
outside of the Station's charter, Sidewinder was developed by China
Lake beginning with a 1949 feasibility study that begat the
"heat-homing rocket" that became Sidewinder. Fielded in 1956 and
combat proven in 1958, AIM-9A through AIM-9M versions of the deadly
little heat-seeker have served the Fleet for over 35 years. Developed
and modernized with the principles of simplicity, reliability, and
producibility in mind, the AIM-9 family of missiles has proven to be
the world's most accurate, reliable, and successful dogfight
missile--a missile adopted and copied by friend and foe alike. During
the '70s NWC pursued Agile (XAIM-95), an advanced dogfight missile
combining China Lake technology advancements in thrust-vector control,
guidance, and targeting. China Lake demonstrated the technology and
hardware for the next-generation long-range air-to-air missile with
its Advanced Common Intercept Missile Demonstration (ACIMD), which
incorporated advanced guidance, ramjet-propulsion, warhead, and
airframe technologies.
Shrike (AGM-45) is another China Lake development
demanded directly by the Fleet; the first successful antiradar
missile, Shrike has become one of the most-fired guided missiles in
history since its 1965 combat debut. Along with Shrike developments,
China Lake antiradar technology programs (such as ERASE and its
products and by-products, like the Antiradiation Projectile) provided
the foundations for the next generation of antiradar missiles,
including HARM (AGM-88). With the Walleye (AGM-62) TV-guided glide
bomb, China Lake designed and developed the first precision-guided
antisurface weapon. An outgrowth of in-house technology efforts,
Walleye was fielded in 1967 and proved its unsurpassed accuracy in
combat. Related to Walleye but cancelled before completion was Condor
(AGM-53), a rocket-powered TV-guided missile. Extended-range data
links have also been developed for Walleye. China Lake also developed
Bulldog (AGM-83), the first successful laser-guided missile, which was
approved for service use in 1974 but cancelled in favor of the Air
Force Maverick.
Missile improvement and support projects have been
conducted by China Lake for a variety of Navy missile systems, notably
Sparrow (AIM/RIM-7), Maverick (AGM-65), Harpoon (A/R/UGM-84), and
Tomahawk (BGM-109). China Lake provided the engineering,
documentation, and production disciplines to get these programs back
on track when they ran into trouble and followed support efforts with
improvement projects for components and systems.
ANTISUBMARINE WEAPONS
Antisubmarine warfare (ASW) was at one time a major area
of endeavor for NOTS; the Pasadena Annex was the focus of ASW work,
which included technology development, submarine-detection systems,
torpedoes, fire control, and delivery systems. China Lake and Pasadena
developed a variety of ASW rockets, including the 12.75-inch "Weapon
A" rocket-propelled depth bomb and launcher system; the
Rocket-Assisted Torpedo (RAT); and ASROC, which superseded RAT and
went to the Fleet in 1960. ASROC versions are still in service,
including Vertical-Launch ASROC.
NOTS Pasadena developed or participated in the
development of the Mk 32 Mod 2, Mk 42, Mk 43, Mk 44, and Mk 46
torpedoes. NOTS also developed devices like the Mk 40 Torpedo Test
Vehicle for RDT&E, and programs such as Project SWISH studies of
torpedo hydrodynamic noise and RETORC--the Research Torpedo
Configuration--laid the groundwork for further developments in ASW
weapons, including the Mk 48 torpedo.
SPECIAL WEAPONS
China Lake work on special weapons--nuclear
weapons--began with Project Camel, part of the Manhattan Project, to
develop and produce non-nuclear explosive bomb components (for which
the Salt Wells Pilot Plant was built) and test bomb shapes. China Lake
did not work on nuclear warheads, but supported a number of special
weapon programs during the 1950s, when the military's focus was
largely on nuclear weapons, with safety evaluations, component and
shape testing, and component development. China Lake redesigned the
Elsie (TX 8/TX 11) penetrator weapon and developed the Bombardment
Aircraft Rocket (BOAR), one of the earliest rockets designed to carry
a nuclear warhead. NOTS also demonstrated in 1957 a submarine-launched
bombardment missile called Marlin.
One of China Lake's most significant areas of
accomplishment is in Fleet ballistic missile support, especially with
regard to Polaris. The Polaris Studies conducted by China Lake were
instrumental in the development of the concept and the weapon system,
and China Lake played a crucial role in rocket motor testing (Skytop)
and underwater-launch testing (Pop-Up). The T&E role continues to be
significant, as witnessed by the huge Trident II motor test facilities
opened in 1986.
AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
China Lake has throughout its history been involved with
the complete weapon system, which includes the necessary fire-control,
interfaces, launchers, and (more recently) software. Beginning in the
'40s, China Lake developed bomb directors such as the Mk 6 Mod 3, Mk
10, and the EX-1--the most accurate of its day for single-seat attack
aircraft; the bomb-director set AN/ASB-8; and fire-control systems Mk
8, Mk 16, and EX-16--a high-performance system using a revolutionary
computing technique. China Lake was involved in the early development
of TV-based avionics, and following its early work on FLIR technology,
China Lake was the lead in integrating FLIR systems into aircraft.
China Lake targeting and fire-control projects also include the
CP-741/841 weapons computer, Navy Pave Knife laser designator, and the
Angle-Rate Bombing System (ARBS).
As an outgrowth of its fire-control work, China Lake
became involved with avionics and software development and weapons
integration for the A-7 aircraft, and as a result of the great success
of the A-7 project China Lake was designated the Weapon System Support
Activity (WSSA) for the AH-1, A-4M, A-6E, A-7E, AV-8B, and F/A-18
aircraft and has performed integration and avionics tasks for a
variety of other Fleet and developmental aircraft. Aircraft weapons
integration and avionics, including the development and testing of
operational flight programs (OFPs) has become one of the major areas
of endeavor at China Lake. The Weapon System Support Facility at
Armitage Field houses simulation and development laboratories that
support every aspect of avionics hardware and software integration,
development, and T&E.
Outgrowths of China Lake's work in aircraft systems have
included such support devices as the Memory Loader/Verifier and the
development of the Versatile Training System/Versatile Computing
System, which became the standard readiness-squadron training-support
system and the basis for other training systems.
FUZING SYSTEMS
China Lake has been developing fuzing components and
devices for its ordnance products since it began developing rockets
during World War II, and the 1967 merging of NOL Corona with NOTS
China Lake to form NWC brought to China Lake decades of fuzing,
safety-arming device, target-detecting device, and related technology
experience and expertise. Guided missile fuzing technologies developed
and successfully exploited by Corona and China Lake include
edge-detection, developed in the mid-1960s and employed in all Navy
antiair missiles; fore-and-aft adaptive-logic, a flexible, adaptive,
and effective scheme used in long-range missiles; pseudorandom-noise
modulation, which combines the advantages of two other technologies
while avoiding their major shortcomings; and active-optical, first
investigated in the '50s and now applied to a number of antiair and
antisurface missiles. Continuous-slot antenna development has been one
of the most significant contributions to fuze-antenna development;
based on an earlier French patent, China Lake refinements,
developments, and new fabrication techniques have been applied to a
variety of missiles. The Mk 45 target-detecting device/shroud assembly
(TDD/SA) for Standard Missile is an example of the application of this
fuzing expertise. Considered by many to be the world's premier missile
fuze, the Mk 45 is a sophisticated device that combines several
advanced technologies. Free-fall weapon fuzing, too, has been pursued
by China Lake. China Lake has had significant involvement in the
development of such devices as the FMU-139/B electronic bomb fuze,
FMU-140/B dispenser proximity fuze, and DSU-30/B target-detecting
device.
Safety and arming (S-A) devices is another area in which
China Lake holds unqualified leadership, with well over 400,000
devices in the Fleet with a perfect safety record. The basic
acceleration-driven S-A device was developed in the mid-'50s by
Corona, and the pneumatic-driven S-A device was developed in the
early-'60s for Walleye.
AIRCREW SAFETY
China Lake has been significantly involved in aircrew
safety RDT&E since the 1950s when it developed the Rocket-Assisted
Personnel Ejection Catapult (RAPEC). RAPEC was developed as an
outgrowth of China Lake expertise in propulsion systems and was widely
fielded. Another ejection seat based on China Lake propulsion-system
expertise was the Vertical-Seeking Subsystem (VSS) for the
Maximum-Performance Ejection Seat; although the overall program was
cancelled in 1982, China Lake had developed and demonstrated the
thrust-vector-control and MICRAD attitude-reference systems that
allowed safe ejection at low altitude and in adverse attitude--even
upside-down. Realistic, high-speed testing of ejection systems has
also been a major area of T&E work at China Lake, especially using the
SNORT dual-rail supersonic track, which was the test facility for most
of the Navy's aircraft-ejection systems, as well as for several Air
Force aircraft and the Gemini spacecraft.
The 1979 incorporation of the National Parachute Test Range mission
into NWC brought long experience and unparalleled expertise in
parachute systems RDT&E to China Lake. Recent projects in aircrew
safety and parachute systems have included the Seawater-Activated
Release System (SEAWARS); the Space Shuttle Emergency Egress System;
and T&E programs for special-forces parachutes, the Galileo Jupiter
probe parachute system, and the recovery system for the Shuttle
boosters.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT
The maintenance of a technology base program that
includes basic and applied research in the physical sciences has been
a cornerstone of China Lake's success--and essential to the
full-spectrum RDT&E of weapon systems for the Navy.
China Lake has been for a large part of its 50 years a world leader in
the synthesis, formulation, process development, scale-up, and
evaluation of new and improved energetic materials for use in advanced
weapons and propulsion systems. Explosives RDT&E has included the
development of explosives, warheads, shaped charges, and castable
explosives; ordnance safety; ordnance-pollution abatement; and
characterization of metals under explosive loading. Further, the
majority of plastic-bonded explosives (PBXs) in service use were
formulated at China Lake. Propellant RDT&E began with a concentration
on double-base propellants and expanded into work on liquid,
smokeless, ramjet, and alternative solid propellants; combustion
instability; manufacturing and storage applications; material and
system safety; and liquid, solid, ramjet, and hybrid propulsion
systems. China Lake propellant work has also found application in
space programs, weather modification, and ejection systems.
Thrust-vector-control technology developments by China Lake have
provided the foundations for numerous applications, including
vertical-launching systems.
Beginning with independent and exploratory development
work in 1962, China Lake developed the technology and hardware to
provide the Fleet with an effective night-attack capability using
forward-looking infrared (FLIR) devices. An early success was the
development of the ADAM search set and ADAM FLIR display system, which
demonstrated the first real-time IR night display of targets; the
technology evolving from this early effort lead to China Lake
involvement in the development of the Night-Attack System, the Night
Observation Gunship (NOGS), and the A-6E TRAM and A-7E FLIR targeting
systems. Early work in IR target detection also lead to China Lake's
development of the FOCUS series of air-to-ground missiles using
modified Sidewinder components.
Laser and optical components technology is another area
of significant accomplishment. China Lake has been a leader in the
development of new optical-component polishing and coating techniques,
optics evaluation and instrumentation, surface-absorption measurement,
and surface-damage characterization; accomplishments in laser research
range from early development of a night search-and-rescue system that
grew out of dye-laser research to the development of the diode laser.
China Lake developments also include the interferometric surface
scanner; bowl-feed polishing, ultrahigh-vacuum deposition, and
ultra-clean sputter deposition optical-film-production techniques; and
a portable CO2 laser. China Lake has also provided invaluable support
to a variety of high-energy-laser research and development programs.
Weather modification was another area of China Lake
preeminence. Between 1949 and 1978 China Lake developed concepts,
techniques, and hardware that were successfully used in hurricane
abatement, fog control, and drought relief. Military application of
this technology was demonstrated in 1966 when Project Popeye was
conducted to enhance rainfall to help interdict traffic on the Ho Chi
Minh Trail. China Lake developments and improvements in
chemiluminescent (chemical-light) compounds and devices have seen
widespread application for military and civilian uses. Manufacturing
and related technologies are also areas of unparalleled China Lake
accomplishment. China Lake established itself as the Government and
industry leader in soldering technology with the development of
state-of-the-art systems and techniques through its experience in
full-spectrum weapon systems development and support. Success in this
area is well illustrated by the phenomenally successful Soldering
Technology Seminars and soldering training programs and by the
establishment of the DOD Electronics Manufacturing Productivity
Facility at China Lake.
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
China Lake has applied its technological and
developmental expertise over the years to a wider variety of projects
and products than weapon systems. For example, in the wake of the
Soviet Sputnik launch, China Lake developed the quick-response NOTS
Project, also known as "NOTSNIK," and built a vehicle to put a
satellite in orbit from a tactical aircraft--which may have launched
one of the first U.S. satellites. Outgrowths from this work included
the Caleb airborne satellite/probe launching system; the Microlock
portable satellite-tracking stations, which were deployed around the
world; and the early-'60s demonstration of concept and hardware for
SIP, a developmental satellite-killer. China Lake also participated in
early strategic-defense and space-research projects with the
development of probes, propulsion systems, and sensors in projects
such as HITAB and TERASCA. Drawing upon its propulsion expertise,
China Lake built and demonstrated the Soft-Landing Vehicle, a
prototype Moon lander.
China Lake undersea research ranged from the development of submarines
to research into the nature of the sea itself. Submarines developed by
China Lake and the Pasadena Annex during the 1960s included Moray, a
two-man deep-diving submarine that was the research prototype for a
sort of underwater fighter plane; Deep Jeep, the first U.S. manned
submersible to descend over 2,000 feet; and CURV, a remote-controlled
diving vehicle designed to recover torpedoes and used in 1966 to
recover a lost nuclear weapon in deep water off the coast of Spain.
NOTS was also talking to dolphins in those days--"Notty" was the first
of these--and studying the way fish swim.
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
Operations analysis in support of the
weapons-development program has been a significant and very productive
area of endeavor at China Lake since shortly after its establishment.
R&D requirements, weapon system requirements, operations,
intelligence, foreign-material exploitation, systems effectiveness,
aircraft survivability, mission-area analysis, and systems
alternatives studies have all been pursued. The Polaris Studies and
the Free-Fall Weapon Studies are examples of analyses with significant
Navy-wide impact. China Lake has also made extensive contributions to
Joint Technical Coordinating Groups, Joint Munitions Effectiveness
Manuals, and projects such as the Tactical Air Armament Study (TAAS).
For example, as a result of TAAS, China Lake developed the Navy and
Marine Corps Ordnance Requirements (NAVMOR) and the Soviet Ship
Vulnerability Program for the Navy. One of the more significant pieces
of analysis conducted by China Lake was the investigation of the 1973
munitions-train explosions at Roseville, Calif., and Benson, Ariz.;
the Roseville-Benson Studies not only saved the Government $50,000,000
to $90,000,000 in damage claims, they established that Navy ordnance
was, indeed, safe to ship by rail.
Throughout the Vietnam war, China Lake supported the
operators through the Vietnam Laboratory Assistance Program (VLAP),
providing analyses, weapons, support equipment, and operational
support--including sending China Lake civilian personnel to provide
immediate, on-sight consulting and liaison. China Lake provided
customized direct support for the Special Forces community with
special-warfare systems and swimmer weapons--everything from
non-irritating face-paint sticks to plastic wrap to specialized weapon
systems, night-vision devices, and liquid explosives. China Lake also
developed major systems for special warfare, such as the Mk IX
swimmer-delivery vehicle, the Underwater Explosive Unit, and the
Actuation Mine Simulator.
The quick-response capability of the in-house laboratory
has proven to be one of China Lake's most significant contributions to
the Navy and to the Nation over the years. Things like Project Ram,
which developed, produced, and delivered the 6.5-inch tank-killing
rocket to Korea in just 28 days in 1950; the ESE ("Easy") program that
produced preproduction Shrikes for possible use during the Cuban
Missile Crisis; literally hundreds of rush projects carried out under
VLAP; development of a specialized TDD for Standard ARM; deployment of
the Sea Chaparral and Shrike-on-Board systems for ship self-protection
during Vietnam; development of the ICWD radar-warning device during
the Iran crisis; and dozens of projects--large and small--in support
of operations in Desert Shield and Storm.
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