A Navy Super Hornet Has Crashed In Death Valley’s Famous Star Wars Canyon

A Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet has gone down near Naval Air Weapons Stations China Lake in California. The condition of the pilot is unknown and search and rescue operations are already underway.

NAWS China Lake is the Navy’s premier weapons and aircraft test and development base in the western United States. It is surrounded by the sprawling R2508 Complex, which includes ‘Star Wars Canyon,’ that supports testing and training from numerous bases in the region, including Edwards AFB, Plant 42, Fort Irwin, and others.

NAWS China Lake is also the epicenter of the recent powerful earthquakes that struck California in early July, 2019. In these past War Zone articles, you can read all about the base and what it is like to work there.