The China Lake Museum Presents the 1st lecture in our new Hidden History Lecture Series: "The Vertical Launch ASROC Story," by Scott O'Neil, Former NAWCWD Executive Director. The Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) story is the first of our new Hidden History lecture series. VLA is the third generation of Anti-Submarine Rockets (ASROCs) built and deployed by China Lake. The rocket delivers a torpedo that is activated on water entry. It then searches, detects, tracks, and destroys enemy submarines. VLA delivers this capability by launching an ASROC from the Navy’s vertical launching system. The VLA then maneuvers the rocket to the desired aimpoint. The lecture will not only go over the stories of developing the underpinning technology, but also the many challenges, complexities, and successes involved with this project.