The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the successor to the Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons.
NAVAIR is headquartered in Naval Air Station Patuxent River in St. Mary's County, Maryland, with military and civilian personnel stationed at eight locations across the continental United States and one site overseas.[1] The current commander as of September 2021 is Vice Admiral Carl P. Chebi, USN.[2] The vice commander is Captain Todd M. Evans, USN.[3] The deputy commander is Mr. Theodore J. Short Jr., SES.[4] The Command Master Chief is CMDCM Todd A. Anselm, USN.[5]
NAVAIR's mission is to provide full life-cycle support of naval aviation aircraft, weapons and systems operated by Sailors and Marines. This support includes research, design, development and systems engineering, acquisition, test and evaluation, training facilities and equipment, repair and modification, and in-service engineering and logistics support.
NAVAIR is organized into eight "competencies" or communities of practice namely: program management, contracts, research and engineering, test and evaluation, logistics and industrial operations, corporate operations, comptroller and counsel.
The competency alignment of the organization is changing to "mission alignment."[6]
NAVAIR provides support (through people, processes, tools, training, mission facilities, and core technologies) to Naval Aviation Program Executive Officers (PEOs) and their assigned program managers, who are responsible for meeting the cost, schedule, and performance requirements of their assigned programs.
Headquarters Groups
After reading his orders from the podium, Vice Admiral Carl Chebi, right, salutes Vice Admiral G. Dean Peters and assumes duties as Commander, Naval Air Systems Command on September 9, 2021, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
NAVAIR encompasses six headquarters groups that report directly to the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command:[7]
Sustainment
Procurement
Engineering & Cyber Warfare
Command Operations
Comptroller
Office of General Counsel
Commands
NAVAIR is organized into three Echelon III commands:
Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) is the naval air center for the development of simulation-based training systems. NAWCTSD is an Echelon IV command that reports to the Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (COMNAWCAD) and is located in Orlando, Florida.[9]
Naval Test Wing Atlantic (NTWL) comprises four test and evaluation squadrons.[10]
Fleet Readiness Centers are support activities that provide shore-based and depot level maintenance and support to the Navy's aviation effort. They are under the direction of the office of Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC).[12]
Below are the following Fleet Readiness Centers:[13]
The Naval Air Systems Command Program Executive Offices (PEOs) are organizations responsible for the prototyping, procurement, and fielding of naval air equipment. Their mission is to develop, acquire, field and sustain affordable and integrated state of the art equipment for the Navy.
The Naval Air Systems Command is organizationally aligned to the Chief of Naval Operations. As part of its mission, NAVAIR provides support, manpower, resources, and facilities to its aligned Program Executive Offices (PEOs). The Program Executive Offices are responsible for the execution of major defense acquisition programs. The PEOs are organizationally aligned to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RDA)). The Naval Aviation PEOs are co-located with the Naval Air Systems Command at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD, and operate under NAVAIR policies and procedures.
There are five Naval Air Systems Program Executive Offices.
Program Executive Office, Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault & Special Mission (PEO(A))[14]
Program Executive Office, Aviation Common Systems and Commercial Services (PEO(CS))[15]
Program Executive Office, Tactical Aircraft Programs (PEO(T))[16]
Program Executive Office, Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W))[17]
Program Executive Office, F-35 Lightning II (PEO(F-35))[18]
Products areas
NAVAIR operations can also be subdivided into five product areas:[19]
Fixed Wing
Rotorcraft
Weapons
Unmanned
Aviation Systems
Naval Aviation Enterprise
NAVAIR is part of the Naval Aviation Enterprise triad model currently headed by the Commander, Naval Air Forces (CNAF) and supported by the OPNAV Director, Naval Air Warfare.[citation needed]
A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or "mission specialist" functions, depending on the type of aircraft. Until 1966, their duties were performed by both commissioned officer and senior enlisted naval aviation observers (NAO).
Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River.
James Basil "Gib" Godwin III, a retired Rear Admiral of the United States Navy, was the Program Executive Officer – Enterprise Information Systems of the Department of the Navy. His responsibilities included oversight of the Navy/Marine Corps Intranet.
Rear Admiral Charles Herbert Johnston Jr., United States Navy, was appointed Vice Commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, (NAVAIR) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland in December 2001.
Lakehurst Maxfield Field, formerly known as Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, is the naval component of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, a United States Air Force-managed joint base. The airfield is approximately 25 mi (40 km) east-southeast of Trenton in Manchester Township and Jackson Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. It is primarily the home to Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst, although the airfield supports several other flying and non-flying units as well. Its name is an amalgamation of its location and the last name of Commander Louis H. Maxfield, who lost his life when the R-38/USN ZR-2 airship crashed during flight on 24 August 1921 near Hull, England.
Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst is a United States military facility located 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. The base is the only tri-service base in the United States Department of Defense and includes units from all six armed forces branches.
The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR), based in San Diego, California is one of six SYSCOM Echelon II organizations within the United States Navy and is the Navy's technical authority and acquisition command for C4ISR, business information technology and space systems. Echelon II means that the organization reports to someone who, in turn, reports directly to the Chief of Naval Operations on the military side. From a civilian perspective, NAVWAR reports to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (RDA). The command was formerly known as Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and was renamed in June 2019 to better align its identity with its mission.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) is an Echelon IV command of the United States Navy, reporting to the Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. NAWCTSD is located in Orlando, Florida in the Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to the University of Central Florida (UCF). The facility is a part of a larger military installation within the Central Florida Research Park known as Naval Support Activity Orlando.
The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) is an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, cryptologic, and space systems in support Navy and Department of Defense acquisition programs.
Naval Air Warfare Centers are research organizations within Naval Air Systems Command. The centers are grouped within the following divisions:
Vice Admiral Walter Black Massenburg is a retired American Navy admiral and former commander of the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland.
The systems commands, abbreviated as SysCom or SYSCOM, are the materiel agencies of the United States Department of the Navy, responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of military systems such as ships, aircraft, facilities, and weapons. The systems commands replaced the Navy bureau system in 1966 and report to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. The current Navy systems commands are:
The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel organizations. From a physical perspective, NAVSEA has four shipyards for shipbuilding, conversion, and repair, ten "warfare centers", the NAVSEA headquarters, located at the Washington Navy Yard, in Washington D.C., and other locations in 15 states and 3 overseas continents.
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) (abbreviated ASN (RDA)) is a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) requires Senate confirmation, and engages in duties as directed by the United States Secretary of the Navy.
Patrol Squadron 30 (VP-30) is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy, established on 30 June 1960. It is based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.
Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific (FRC WESTPAC) is an aircraft maintenance unit of the United States Navy. It is located at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. It is a subsidiary of the Navy's Commander, Fleet Readiness Center (COMFRC).
The Naval Air Systems Command Program Executive Offices(PEOs) are organizations responsible for the prototyping, procurement, and fielding of naval air equipment. Their mission is to develop, acquire, field and sustain affordable and integrated state of the art equipment for the Navy.
The six Naval Sea Systems Command Program Executive Offices(PEOs) are responsible for the development and acquisition of naval platforms and weapons systems. Their mission is to develop, acquire, field and sustain affordable and integrated state of the art equipment for the Navy and Marine Corps.
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