Free Republic

Sweat the small stuff. That’s the unofficial motto for this year’s edition of the military exercise Black Dart, a two-week test of tactics and technologies to combat hostile drones that begins Monday on the Point Mugu range at Naval Base Ventura County in California. The military categorizes Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) by size and capability, from Group 5 drones that weigh more than 1,320 pounds and can fly above 18,000 feet like the Reaper, down to Group 1, mini- and micro-drones less than 20 pounds that fly lower than 1,200 feet. Previous Black Darts have covered threats to troops overseas...

The joint U.S.-Israel Arrow Weapon System successfully intercepted a ballistic target missile during a flight test conducted today. This test is part of the Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIP) and was conducted jointly by the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division-Pt. Mugu Sea Range. At 10:30 p.m. local time (Pacific Standard Time), the target missile was launched from a Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) off the coast of California, within the Pt. Mugu test range. The target was representative of potential ballistic missile threats facing Israel. The Arrow...

VENTURA, Calif. -- An airbase spokesman says a Boeing 707 tanker has crashed on takeoff at Point Mugu Naval Air Station in Ventura County.

A military aircraft crashed at Point Mugu Naval Air Station in Ventura County Wednesday afternoon. A Boeing 707 fuel tanker carrying 158,000 pounds of jet fuel crashed shortly after take-off around 5:25 p.m. and burst into flames. 3 people were reportedly onboard. All were able to escape with minor injuries, according to Teri Reid, an Air Station spokesperson. 13 emergency units initially responded to the fire. Ventura County Fire Department brought in a water dropping helicopter to battle the blaze. The cause of the accident was under investigation.

The Boeing Company successfully launched a missile from the F-15 Silent Eagle's newly designed Conformal Weapons Bay (CWB) on July 14. Demonstration aircraft departed from Point Mugu Naval Air Weapon Station, Calif., at 5:59 p.m Pacific time, launched an inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) from its left-side CWB, and returned to base at 6:52 p.m. The test demonstrated the CWB's flightworthiness and ability to deploy an AMRAAM in flight with no adverse effect on the performance of the aircraft or the CWB itself. "I've been flying F-15s for more than 20 years, but this flight...

POINT MUGU - Supporters of Naval Base Ventura County said Friday a new assessment of how many military jobs will be transferred from the Point Mugu base to China Lake shows losses in the hundreds rather than the thousands. Review of the final Base Realignment and Closure law indicates that 416 positions, rather than the 2,250 feared last year, will be reassigned from Point Mugu to China Lake, said Jack Dodd, the retired former vice commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center at Point Mugu. The announcement was made by members of the Regional Defense Partnership for the 21st Century,...

How times have changed since the Mugu Fish Camp and pier at Point Mugu was a serene recreational destination for Ventura County residents and people from the inland areas of Southern California. To be sure, the drone of propeller-driven airplanes probably prompted a quick look from visitors, but the thunderous roar of supersonic jets was still well beyond their imagination. So, no doubt, was the thought that the area would one day be called a historic site. That designation will come this afternoon. Built about 1929-30 on a sand spit between the ocean and Mugu Lagoon, the camp offered local...