Naval Air Systems Command



The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides material support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. NAVAIR was established in 1966 as the successor to the Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons.

NAVAIR is headquartered in Patuxent River, Md., with military and civilian personnel stationed at eight locations across the continental United States and one site overseas.

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 including: program management, contracts, research and engineering, test and evaluation, logistics and industrial operations, corporate operations, comptroller and counsel. 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.

The current commander as of Sept. 20, 2012 is Vice Adm. David A. Dunaway. The vice commander is Rear Adm. Kirby Miller. The deputy commander, or senior civilian service member, is Mr. Kalman I. Leikach.

NAVAIR Locations
NAVAIR Headquarters is a tenant activity of Patuxent River NAS in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Ten NAVAIR locations exist, with eight U.S. locations from coast to coast, and two international locations. These are:


 * Patuxent River, Maryland: Aircraft & Systems Development, Test, and Evaluation; Test Ranges


 * Lakehurst, New Jersey: Support Equipment, Aircraft Launch & Recovery Equipment


 * Orlando, Florida: Training Systems, Instructional Systems


 * China Lake, California: Weapons and Systems Development, Energetics, Test Ranges


 * Point Mugu, California: Weapons Test and Evaluation, Targets, Test Ranges


 * North Island, California:


 * Cherry Point, North Carolina: In-Service Support Center, Vertical Lift Center of Excellence


 * Jacksonville, Florida: In-Service Engineering, Repair and Modification Services


 * Atsugi, Japan:


 * Naples, Italy:

Program Executive Officers (PEO)
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 (PEO's). The Program Executive Offices are responsible for the execution of major defense acquisition programs. The PEO's are organizationally aligned to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RDA)). The Naval Aviation PEO's are co-located with the Naval Air Systems Command, and operate under NAVAIR policies and procedures. Other PEO's, such as the Office of the Secretary of Defense's direct reporting Program Executive Office, Joint Strike Fighter (PEO(JSF)) also obtain support, manpower, laboratories and facilities from NAVAIR.

Naval Aviation PEOs are:


 * Program Executive Officer, Tactical Programs (PEO(T))


 * Program Executive Officer, Assault and ASW Programs (PEO(A))


 * Program Executive Officer, Weapons and Unmanned Vehicles (PEO(U&W))

Naval Aviation Enterprise
NAVAIR is part of the Naval Aviation Enterprise triad model currently headed by the Commander Naval Air Force (CNAF) and supported by the OPNAV Director, Naval Air Warfare.

Navy Systems Commands
The five Navy systems commands or "SYSCOMs" are:
 * Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
 * Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)
 * Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR)
 * Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC)
 * Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP)