The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides material support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the various Navy systems commands, and 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. The current commander as of 13 April 2016 is Vice Admiral Paul Grosklags. The vice commander is Rear Admiral (Lower Half) (Sel) Francis D. Morley. The deputy commander, or senior civilian service member, is Mr. Gary Newton.
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. 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.
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:
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.