McCarthy Applauds Cal UAS Portal

"I applaud the Cal UAS Portal for its recent submission to the FAA. There is still work to be done, but with the technical expertise, remote location, controlled airspace, and diverse climate and terrain, I believe the Cal UAS Portal is a great candidate in this endeavor. East Kern County and I are united and I look forward to continuing to work with the community in support of this effort." – Congressman Kevin McCarthy

"I know that the Cal UAS Portal team has put together a compelling proposal that highlights Inyokern's diverse environment, resources, and human capital. If it gets selected as a research and test site, as I believe it should, the area will benefit from much-needed new jobs and stand as an example of how to adapt in today's rapidly changing economy." - State Senator Jean Fuller

"The Indian Wells Valley aerospace corridor is a perfect microcosm of everything that makes California a national and world leader in UAS development. The Cal UAS Portal has harnessed the natural resources and technical expertise of the region to help write the next chapter in UAS history, and this is exactly the kind of endeavor that California should embrace to encourage industry growth and job creation." - Assemblywoman Shannon Grove

"Cal UAS Portal offers the FAA a rare opportunity to optimize technical expertise, a secure tactical environment, and a robust indigenous workforce with world-class systems integration experience. It is the best choice for the FAA to conduct testing for the integration of UAS into the national airspace.

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Indian Wells Valley is home to the Naval Air Warfare Command, Weapons Division; the premiere Research, Development, Test & Evaluation laboratory in the world. Located in the remote reaches of the Mojave Desert, the Inyokern and Ridgecrest communities are among the most educated and well-trained workforces supporting the Navy, the largest contributor to the economic base of the community.

SECURE TACTICAL ENVIRONMENT

Inyokern Airfield is located adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and enjoys encroachment-free access to R-2508, a restricted airspace consisting of 20,000 square miles of controlled airspace. Remotely located in the heart of the Upper Mojave Desert, it's here that the Navy has developed and tested its vast array of weapons in the most secure of environments, free from the scrutiny of unwarranted public attention.

ROBUST INDIGENOUS WORKFORCE

Since 1943, this community has been home to the world's premiere weapons research, development, test and evaluation center. Our community has been created specifically for that purpose and our local economy has been shaped solely to support this function. The collaboration between the defense industry and the government workforce has spawned a community which understands shared responsibility and has consistently demonstrated successful partnerships.

The same dynamic which brought the US Navy here in 1943 exists today. An emerging need to safely and develop a national program outside the confines of major population centers where test programs can safely fail and innovation can safely succeed." – Kern County Supervisor Mick Gleason