Ashley Bechtel

Ashley Bechtel serves as a primary procurement lead at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (N00164), where she manages critical acquisitions supporting the development, testing, and sustainment of advanced electronic, electro-optical, and ordnance systems for naval warfare platforms. Her role centers on ensuring timely and compliant procurement of mission-critical technologies that enhance precision sensing, signal processing, communications, and electronic warfare capabilities for surface and expeditionary forces. She routinely handles complex contract actions for research and development, specialized manufacturing, and technical services aligned with the Navy’s modernization priorities in electronic systems and weapons sustainment. Bechtel maintains consistent working relationships with key industry partners including Lockheed Martin Corporation, Programs Management Analytics & Technologies Inc., Integrity Defense Services Inc., Black Hills Ammunition Inc., and McKenzie Construction & Site Development LLC. These partnerships reflect a blend of prime defense contractors delivering high-end electronics and ordnance systems, specialized technical service providers, and niche manufacturers supporting infrastructure and logistics. Her procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting and long-term vendor collaboration to ensure technical fidelity and operational readiness. Her contracting patterns show a strong preference for open competition, with 75% of awards issued without set-aside restrictions, while maintaining a deliberate 25% commitment to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This balance reflects a strategic emphasis on leveraging industry innovation while actively fostering participation from small businesses capable of delivering specialized electronic and ordnance-related solutions. Her primary NAICS focus lies in battery manufacturing (335910), bare printed circuit board manufacturing (334412), and physical sciences R&D (541715), underscoring deep expertise in power systems, signal hardware, and applied engineering research. She procures mission-critical components including high-reliability batteries, RF/EO sensor substrates, and prototype development services, demonstrating technical fluency in defense electronics, electro-optics, and weapons system integration.