China Lake Naws (Armitage Field) Airport

China Lake NAWS (Armitage Field), designated KNID, is a military airfield located within Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake in the Mojave Desert of California. It serves as the primary aviation facility for the largest Department of Defense land range in the United States, supporting weapons testing, research, and development operations. The airfield is named in honor of Lieutenant Commander John Armitage, who was killed in a crash at the base. It is operated exclusively by the U.S. Navy and is not open to commercial or general public aviation traffic. The surrounding NAWS China Lake installation encompasses over 1.1 million acres and is central to naval aviation weapons development. Armitage Field supports a variety of military aircraft involved in test and evaluation missions, including fighter jets and unmanned systems. The base was significantly damaged by earthquakes in 2019 but underwent substantial reconstruction and repair efforts.