JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst met virtually with small business representatives and contractors Dec. 9 at the Lakehurst Small Business Roundtable Industry Day.
Held annually, the roundtable meeting focuses on the current involvement of small businesses in support of NAWCAD Lakehurst’s Naval Aviation mission and provides an overview of upcoming contracting opportunities in Support Equipment (SE) and Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment (ALRE).
NAWCAD Lakehurst relies on small businesses to aid its SE and ALRE mission, insuring the safe and effective operation of fixed and rotary wing aircrafts from aircraft carriers, air capable ships and expeditionary airfields.
In return, NAWCAD Lakehurst allocates funds to support these businesses, having surpassed its obligation goals for women-owned and disadvantaged small businesses in 2020.
According to Kathleen Donnelly, NAWCAD LKE executive director and the event’s keynote speaker, NAWCAD LKE allocated approximately $1.2 billion to small businesses this past year.
Donnelly also discussed the command's recent reorganization to a Mission Aligned Organization. “The reorganization has brought us closer together,” Donnelly said, “we are open for business, and our mission has not changed.”
The event included overviews from the ALRE, SE, Mission Operations and Integration, and Prototyping, Manufacturing and Test departments. These discussions outlined several upcoming contracting opportunities for support services and reviewed some of the challenges the departments have been focusing on, with emphasis on obsolescence prevention and reduction of acquisition and support costs.
The collaboration between NAWCAD LKE and industry continues to yield mission success. “I harken it to putting a man on the moon,” Donnelly said. “All of us come together so we can do our mission and support the men and women out in the field. As I like to say, when we work together there is no limit to what we can overcome and what we can do.”