OXNARD : Army May Test Arms Over Coastal Waters

As part of the Star Wars defense program, the waters off the Ventura County coast could become the next site for testing how well U.S. weapons do at shooting down long-range missiles from other countries, Army officials said Wednesday.

Officials from the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command said at a meeting in Oxnard that the Army is considering the ocean range stretching from south of Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center to Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Santa Barbara as one of four possible sites for a program that will measure U.S. capability to shoot down enemy missiles.