NAVFAC Officer in Charge of Construction China Lake Breaks Ground on Range Control Complex Fourteenth MILCON of Earthquake Recovery Program

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Officer in Charge of Construction (OICC) China Lake hosted its fourteenth groundbreaking ceremony on February 16, for the awarded $113 million Range Control Complex project aboard Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, as part of the $2.7 billion Earthquake Recovery Program.

The Range Control Complex project encompasses building a quartet of specialized facilities, ranging from 10,000 to 45,000 square feet for testing and evaluation support a the continued advancement of weapons research aboard NAWS China Lake.

The construction of the Range Control Center, Range Engineering and Operations Building, a Range Instrumentation Support Facility and the Range Fire Control/Missile Assembly Building are estimated to be move in ready in winter 2024.
OICC China Lake Construction Manager Lt j.g. Kevin Freedman served as the master of ceremonies and provided welcoming remarks before introducing the speakers for the ceremony Webcor Builders - Project Director Aditya Thakur, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) Director of Ranges/ Targets Operations and Labs Group Tom Dowd and OICC China Lake’s Commanding Officer Capt. Laurie Scott.
“Once this project is completed the Range Control Complex will be a quartet of state-of-the-art facilities that will support real-world research, development, testing and evaluation by the NAWCWD team,” said OICC China Lake Commanding Officer Capt. Laurie Scott. “The important work that this project will support right here in Ridgecrest will allow warfighters around the world to defend our nation against those who wish to do us harm.”

“At NAWCWD, we come to work every day with a single goal in mind: bring our warfighters the capabilities they need to ensure they come out on top, whatever the situation,” said NAWCWD Director of Ranges/ Targets Operations and Labs Group Tom Dowd. “This facility will help us meet that ever-evolving mission more efficiently and effectively than ever before.”

“The unique elements of this project, the intricate complexities, and, most importantly, the support this facility will provide have been some of the reasons that keeps our team motivates to deliver excellence.’ said Webcor Builders Project Director Aditya Thakur. “The partnership that NAVFAC and OICC China Lake is fostering is a testament of the same excellence we see in our esteemed client.”

NAWS China Lake is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately 150 miles north of Los Angeles. China Lake’s mission is to support the Navy's RDT&E missions to provide cutting-edge weapons systems to the warfighter. The installation is the Navy's largest single landholding. In total, its two ranges and main site cover more than 1.1 million acres, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island.

OICC China Lake was established in August 2020 to provide engineering, acquisition, and execution oversight for military construction and repair projects caused by the devastating damage from the 6.4 and 7.1 magnitude earthquakes that occurred on July 4 and 5, 2019.