Why Is the Navy Building a Shiny Drone Base in Sunny Malibu?

"At Naval Base Ventura County [which houses Point Mugu], there is a wealth of fitness and recreation options. Choose from aerobic classes, state-of-the-art fitness centers, or league and intramural play. Swimming lessons, aquatic activities, bowling, athletic fields and courts, youth activities or golf at the 18-hole Seabee Golf Course, are also available. Duke's Place and The Point will tempt your palate for lunch and dinner and you will enjoy pay per view events and tournaments at the Sports Bar. For an outdoor approach spend a day or two on the beach at the Point Mugu Beach Motel. If going to the city is more your idea of a great destination, visit the local discount ticket offices for money saving ideas."

From Gizmodo:

With bases like Drone Zone Malibu, the Navy will be able to remotely "fly out over the open ocean, find and track ships, targets of interest. That could be potential adversaries, terrorists, whatever the [Navy] needs [to find]." So: an omnipresent maritime eye could spot potential threats—or anything, really—over the waters, and then beam back electronic signatures and video streams to the mainland, where the next step will be made. The Triton isn't an armed drone, but if it spotted something spooky, it could call in some death from above—whether that be a warplane or just another drone.

The Navy was a little vague on what exactly these bad guys could be, since "adversaries" and "terrorists" covers about anything imaginable on a boat. Indeed, we were told that "There are times when [the Navy will] pay attention to commercial shipping" off the Californian coast, boats that don't bear any indication of belligerence at all.

The Triton has a completely panoramic view of the ocean below it from nearly 60,000 feet in the air, which means any of the jetskiing, sailing, doggy-paddling Californians below are within its range. Maybe that will be you! Maybe it will be a friend of yours, floating on her back, eyes half-closed in a greasy fog of sun lotion and melatonin, thinking of her beer and tenuous friendships on the sand. Maybe it'll just be strangers. But they'll all be under the Triton eye, ostensibly up there to Track The Enemy (China?) and Provide Intelligence (pictures of boats?) in the name of national security. Maybe it'll work. It's certainly cheaper than putting out our own boats and airplanes with people in them. When I asked where this data will end up, both Navy reps paused and said they "weren't sure" if it'd be stored permanently.

Background on Point Mugu.