NAVAL BASE POINT LOMA
Pacific submarines, naval information warfare, and Old Town heritage on San Diego Bay.
OVERVIEW
Naval Base Point Loma is the San Diego region's third major Navy installation — alongside Naval Base San Diego and Naval Base Coronado — and the principal homeport for the U.S. Pacific Fleet attack submarine force. Created in 1998 by consolidating Submarine Base San Diego, Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center Pacific, the Old Town Complex, the Defense Fuel Support Point, and several smaller activities into a single regional command, the base spans about 1,650 acres across the eastern slopes of the Point Loma peninsula overlooking San Diego Bay.
The Submarine Base side of the installation, on Ballast Point at the southern tip of the peninsula, is the homeport of Submarine Squadron 11 and a rotating roster of Los Angeles- and Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. The Old Town Campus, several miles north along the bay, is the headquarters of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) — the major Navy command responsible for delivering information warfare and command-and-control systems to the fleet — and its associated research and development arm, Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific). Other tenants include the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center, which trains surface and submarine crews in undersea warfare. About 22,000 active-duty Sailors, civilian employees, and contractors work across the consolidated installation.
KEY FACTS
- CompositionConsolidation in 1998 of SUBASE San Diego, FASWTC, NAVWAR, Fuel Depot, and other Point Loma activities
- Submarine MissionPacific Fleet attack submarine homeport (Submarine Squadron 11)
- Information WarfareHeadquarters of NAVWAR — Navy's information warfare systems command
- SitesSubmarine Base, Old Town Campus, Fleet ASW Training Center, Defense Fuel Support Point
- GeographySpans the eastern slopes of the Point Loma peninsula overlooking San Diego Bay
HISTORY
The Point Loma peninsula has been a Navy site since the late 19th century, but the modern installation traces its origins to the post-World War II era. The strategic value of the peninsula's commanding position over the entrance to San Diego Bay led to long-running Navy investment in coastal defense, fueling, and harbor support infrastructure on the eastern slopes facing the bay. The Naval Fuel Depot at Point Loma — a major fleet fueling facility built into the hillside — entered service in the 1920s and remained a critical Pacific Fleet asset through the Cold War.
In the late 1950s, with the U.S. Pacific submarine force expanding rapidly to meet the demands of the Cold War, the Navy moved to establish a permanent submarine base in southern California to relieve crowding at the Pearl Harbor and Bremerton submarine bases and to provide a deep-water Pacific homeport closer to the operational fleet. The Navy selected Ballast Point at the southern tip of Point Loma — historically a coast artillery and harbor defense site — and established the Submarine Support Facility there in 1963, homeporting diesel-electric attack boats; it was redesignated Naval Submarine Base San Diego in 1981. As the Pacific Fleet transitioned to nuclear attack submarines through the 1960s and 1970s, SUBASE San Diego grew into a major homeport for Permit-class, Sturgeon-class, and ultimately Los Angeles-class submarines.
Other Navy activities collected on Point Loma over the same decades. The Navy Electronics Laboratory was established on Point Loma in 1945 and evolved through successive reorganizations into today's Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific; the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) — created in 1985 and renamed NAVWAR in 2019 — moved its headquarters to the Old Town Campus in the late 1990s. Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center Pacific consolidated Pacific Fleet undersea warfare training at Point Loma during the late Cold War. Through the 1990s the Navy's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) reviews led to the consolidation of these geographically scattered Point Loma installations under a single regional command.
In 1998, Naval Base Point Loma was formally established by combining SUBASE San Diego, the Fleet ASW Training Center, the Old Town Campus, the Defense Fuel Support Point, and several smaller activities into one host installation. The new arrangement streamlined base operations and clarified command relationships, while preserving the distinct mission identities of the constituent sites. Today, NB Point Loma anchors the U.S. Pacific Fleet's submarine and information warfare enterprises and forms the third leg of the San Diego Navy triangle alongside NB San Diego and NB Coronado.
MAJOR COMMANDS & TENANT UNITS
- Submarine Squadron 11 (Pacific Fleet attack submarines)
- Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) headquarters (Old Town Campus)
- Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center
- Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific)
- Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center (FASWTC) Pacific
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY
NOTABLE EVENTS
- 1963Submarine Support Facility at Ballast PointThe Navy established the Submarine Support Facility on Ballast Point at the foot of Point Loma — redesignated Naval Submarine Base San Diego in 1981 — to support an expanding Pacific submarine force.
- 1998ConsolidationNaval Base Point Loma created by consolidating SUBASE San Diego with multiple Point Loma activities under a single regional command.
- 2019NAVWAR Stands UpSpace and Naval Warfare Systems Command was renamed Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) at the Old Town Campus.