Brad McLaughlin

Brad McLaughlin serves as a key procurement professional at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (N00164), where he manages complex acquisitions supporting the Department of the Navy’s advanced electronic, electro-optical, and ordnance systems. His responsibilities center on securing mission-critical capabilities in signal processing, electronic warfare, radar detection, and guided munitions, ensuring timely delivery of next-generation systems for surface and expeditionary forces. He routinely handles sole-source and competitive procurements under the Navy’s research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) and production contracting frameworks, with a focus on technical innovation and operational readiness. McLaughlin maintains longstanding relationships with prime contractors including Lockheed Martin Corporation, Programs Management Analytics & Technologies Inc., and Black Hills Ammunition Inc., partnering with firms possessing deep expertise in defense electronics, missile systems, and precision ordnance. His contracting approach emphasizes collaboration with industry leaders capable of integrating advanced semiconductors, sensor architectures, and ruggedized communications hardware into naval platforms. He also engages specialized vendors such as Integrity Defense Services Inc. and McKenzie Construction & Site Development LLC for technical support and facility infrastructure, reflecting a balanced portfolio of high-tech and enabling services. McLaughlin’s procurement portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on accessing the broadest possible industrial base for highly specialized defense technologies, where only a limited number of vendors possess the required security clearances, technical certifications, and production capabilities. While small business participation is not formally prioritized through socioeconomic set-asides, his contracting decisions remain aligned with broader DoD goals for industrial resilience and supply chain security. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 334511 for search, detection, and navigation systems (52.9%), followed by guided missile manufacturing (336414) and semiconductor device production (334413). He routinely acquires radar signal processors, electronic countermeasure suites, warhead fuzing systems, and high-reliability avionics, demonstrating deep technical fluency in naval warfare systems and the industrial base that sustains them.