EW flight test ranges (Electronic Combat Ranges) are instrumented and populated with high-fidelity, manned or unmanned threat simulators. Additional emitter-only threat simulators are also used to provide the high signal density characterizing typical operational EW environments. The high cost of outdoor threat simulators limits current range testing to one-on-one, one-on-few, or few-on-few scenarios.
     The ECR, located at China Lake, CA is operated by the Naval Air Warfare Center--Weapons Division. They provide a range for test and evaluation of airborne electronic warfare devices and systems, threat simulation systems of various types including pulse, CW, and Pulse Doppler systems, with many different angular tracking techniques including multi-object tracking phased array. The Electronic Combat Range (ECR) is operated on 900 square miles of land that has 1200 square miles of overlaid restricted airspace (R-2524). It has an extensive instrumentation infrastructure consisting of fiber optics communications, recording, and real time presentation of audio, video and digital data for monitoring the execution of tests against threat simulation systems. Data is centrally collected and presented in the Test Operations Center. Five Nike Radars (AN/MPQ-45) provide reference tracking data. Also available is Global Position System (GPS) TSPI that provides multilateration range tracking for as many as 25 participants at once.

For more information contact:
Code C33
NAWC-WD
China Lake, CA
DSN: 555-9197
Commercial: (619) 555-9197

or

Electronic Warfare Directorate