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Naval Air Systems Command

Naval Aviation Material Systems Command of the U.S. Navy

Field	Value
unit_name	Naval Air Systems Command
image	Seal of Naval Air Systems Command.png
caption	Seal of the Naval Air Systems Command
start_date
country	United States
branch
type	SYSCOM
role	Naval warfare, Naval Aviation
command_structure	SYSCOM
garrison	Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Patuxent River, Maryland, U.S.
garrison_label	Headquarters
website
commander1	Vice Admiral John E. Dougherty IV
commander1_label	Commander
commander2	Captain Eric M. Gardner
commander2_label	Vice Commander
commander3	Thomas G. Rudowsky
commander3_label	Deputy Commander
commander4	CMDCM James W. Stedding
commander4_label	Command Master Chief

Patuxent River, Maryland, U.S.

The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides material support for aeronaval 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. The current commander as of August 2025 is Vice Admiral John E. Dougherty IV, USN. The vice commander is Captain Eric M. Gardner, USN. The deputy commander is Mr. Thomas G. Rudowsky, SES. The Command Master Chief is CMDCM James W. Stedding, USN.

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."

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

NAVAIR encompasses six headquarters groups that report directly to the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command:

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 Aircraft Division

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is the naval air center for Aircraft Systems Development and Testing. NAWCAD is located at the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst and the Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
- 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.
- Naval Test Wing Atlantic (NTWL) comprises the United States Naval Test Pilot School and four test and evaluation squadrons.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) is the naval air center for Weapons Systems and Energetics Development and Testing. NAWCWD is located at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and the Naval Air Station Point Mugu.
- Naval Test Wing Pacific (NTWP) comprises a test and evaluation squadron and a range support squadron.

Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC)

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).

Below are the following Fleet Readiness Centers:

Fleet Readiness Center East, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic, Naval Air Station Oceana
Fleet Readiness Center Northwest, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, Naval Air Station Jacksonville
Fleet Readiness Center Southwest, Naval Air Station North Island
Fleet Readiness Center West, Naval Air Station Lemoore
Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific, Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan
FRC Aviation Support Equipment (ASE), Solomons Island, Maryland
FRC Reserve, Naval Air Station Patuxent River

Program Executive Offices (PEOs)

Main article: Naval Air Systems Command Program Executive Offices

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))
Program Executive Office, Aviation Common Systems and Commercial Services (PEO(CS))
Program Executive Office, Tactical Aircraft Programs (PEO(T))
Program Executive Office, Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W))
Program Executive Office, F-35 Lightning II (PEO(F-35))

Products areas

NAVAIR operations can also be subdivided into five product areas:

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.

Footnotes

References

"Naval Air Systems Command - Overview". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Commander, Naval Air Systems Command". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Vice Commander, Naval Air Systems Command". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Deputy Commander, Naval Air Systems Command". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Command Master Chief, Naval Air Systems Command". Naval Air Systems Command.
"NAVAIR Commander's Update: Expectations for 2019".
(29 October 2020). "NAVAIR Mission Aligned Organization Enterprise Relationships". Naval Air Systems Command.
"NAWCAD Lakehurst". Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst.
"Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division". NAWCTSD.
"NWTL". Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.
"NAWCWD". Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division.
"COMFRC". COMFRC.
"Fleet Readiness Centers". COMFRC.
"Program Executive Office Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault & Special Mission". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Program Executive Office, Aviation Common Systems and Commercial Services". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Program Executive Office, Tactical Aircraft Programs". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Program Executive Office, Unmanned and Weapons". Naval Air Systems Command.
"Program Executive Office - F-35 Lightning II". Naval Air Systems Command.
"NAVAIR Products". Naval Air Systems Command.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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