VX-30 'Bloodhounds' is a US Navy squadron that just keeps re-inventing itself to meet new missions as dictated by the Fleet. Its versatility and ability to meet new roles, often with ageing aircraft and equipment, is testament to the personnel that keep the 'Bloodhounds' in business.

report and photos: Jamie Hunter/Aviacom

The coast of Southern California used to be the playground of the US Navy. Miramar and North Island were bristling with fast jet traffic, and there were more squadrons than you could shake a stick at. At Point Mugu, in the southeastern corner of the Oxnard Plain, where the sea and the Santa Monica Mountains meet, is an air station that has seen a diverse range of roles over the years, and more than its fair share of rare types as one of the Navy’s most famous flight test stations. Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu as it is now known has long been associated with some of the more interesting aircraft in service with the Navy thanks to the diversity of the testing conducted here.
VX-30 ‘Bloodhounds’, formally known as Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Three Zero, was actually established back in May 1995 as Naval Weapons Test Squadron Point Mugu under the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) competency realignment. The squadron previously existed under a number of identities but has remained the principal test unit for Point Mugu’s Naval Air Systems Command assets and part of the NAWC Weapons Division.
The embryonic stages of testing here date back to January 1945 when the Loon surface-to-surface missile was evaluated as a potential ship to shore weapon. By 1949 Point Mugu was a Naval Air Station and the home of the Naval Air Missile Test Center, with the first stand-off air to surface missile, the radio guided Bullpup, put to the test here in 1958, followed by the now famous AIM-7 Sparrow. The adjacent Pacific Missile Range was soon linked via flight corridors to the similar facilities at China Lake. The early 1990s saw Mugu again re-named the Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) - now boasting a wealth of historic military milestones, indeed mention any weapons system in Naval aviation service and you can bet that Point Mugu had some involvement along the line. The partnership of the F-14 Tomcat’s AWG-9 radar and it’s unique AIM-54 Phoenix missile was forged here and acceptance trials of the jet and it’s systems were concentrated at Pt Mugu.
Point Mugu sits on the edge of the largest sea test range in the world, ensuring that the station has remained one of the last bastions of Naval air operations in southern California. Whilst they certainly don't operate it, the 'Bloodhounds' support cutting edge research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) of a number of US naval combat systems and to fulfil this demanding role employs a uniquely varied fleet of aircraft.
This tradition of VX-30 operating a mixed and diverse fleet was sadly dealt a huge blow in 2003 when it was decided that the squadron's last F-14 Tomcats and QF-4 Phantoms would be retired from service. The squadron had been heavily involved in most upgrades for the Tomcat fleet and was the last Navy unit with a dedicated Tomcat test team. Alongside the F-14s, the last ever flying US Navy QF-4 Phantoms operated with VX-30 fulfilled a unique, and some would say irreplaceable role. Sadly, for both it was the end of the line. VX-30 swapped its charismatic Tomcats and Phantoms for A and B-model Hornets - it was time to move on.
The demand for Hornet airframes throughout the fleet led to VX-30 having to cease flying the type and concentrate on its remaining heavy aircraft, ending fast jet operations at the unit. VX-30's charismatic Firebee target drone-toting DC-130 Hercules was retired in 2006 and the squadron rationalised down to the P-3A, P-3C, NP-3D and KC-130.

The full version of this feature appears in Combat Aircraft Monthly March 2010 edition (issue 11.3).