China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station
Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is the US Navy's largest single land holding, encompassing approximately 1.1 million acres in the Mojave Desert of Kern and San Bernardino counties, California. Located near Ridgecrest in the Antelope Valley region, China Lake is the Navy's premier major range and test facility base (MRTFB) for weapons research, development, testing, and evaluation, representing approximately 85% of the Navy's weapons and armaments RDT&E programs. The installation includes two separate ranges — the Ranges and Sea Test Range — connected by a large mainside community.
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Significance to UAP Research
China Lake is one of the most frequently cited locations in UAP legacy program allegations concerning underground facilities in the Antelope Valley network:
- A 1964 US Army Corps of Engineers study titled "Feasibility of Constructing Large Underground Cavities" examined a location in Inyo County, California, which shares territory with China Lake. The proposed underground cavity would extend 4,000 feet deep and was to be accessed via an incline shaft. It is unknown whether this facility was built.
- Richard Sauder received testimony from Navy veterans stationed at China Lake who confirmed the facility extends one mile deep and contains "weapons more powerful than nuclear weapons."
- Bill Hamilton had an informant who alleged to have served as an aerospace engineering consultant to a colonel at China Lake, claiming the colonel worked at an underground installation connecting China Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, and the Nevada Test Site — and that he entered the system through a DUMB beneath White Sands Missile Range.
- Multiple Hamilton informants described ground vehicles and maglev train systems within the network connecting China Lake to other Antelope Valley facilities.
China Lake is not directly mentioned in the "Ed" testimony (the primary USAF witness for the Edwards-NTTR joint program), but UAP Gerb argues its role as the Navy's largest weapons RDT&E installation makes cross-program cooperation with USAF programs at Edwards likely, with underground infrastructure enabling secure inter-service materials and technology sharing.
Proximity to Antelope Valley Network
China Lake sits approximately 55 miles northwest of Edwards Air Force Base and approximately 80 miles east-northeast of the Northrop Tehachapi (Anthill) facility. At TBM boring rates of 10 miles per year, these facilities could be connected by tunnel within 5.5–8 years, making China Lake a plausible node in the alleged southwestern DUMB network.