The Naval Air Systems Command 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 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 31 May 2018 is Vice Admiral G. Dean Peters. The vice commander is Rear Admiral John S. Lemmon. The deputy commander, or senior civilian service member, is Mr. Garry R. 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. The competency alignment of the organization is changing to "mission alignment." NAVAIR provides support to Naval Aviation Program Executive Officers and their assigned program managers, who are responsible for meeting the cost, schedule, and performance requirements of their assigned programs.
Program Executive Offices (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. 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. 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 also obtain support, manpower, laboratories and facilities from NAVAIR. Naval Aviation PEOs are:
PMA-281: Strike Planning and Execution Systems Program
Naval Aviation Enterprise
NAVAIR is part of the Naval Aviation Enterprise triad model currently headed by the Commander, Naval Air Forces and supported by the OPNAV Director, Naval Air Warfare.
Fleet Readiness Centers are support activities that provide shore-based and depot level maintenance and support to the Navy's aviation effort. They are directed under the office of Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers. Below are the following Fleet Readiness Centers:
