Cassandra Cooper

Cassandra Cooper serves as a primary procurement lead within DLA Aviation, responsible for managing the acquisition of critical aviation components and subsystems essential to the sustainment of U.S. military aircraft fleets. Her role is central to ensuring the continuous operational readiness of military aviation systems by securing high-reliability parts that address technical obsolescence, supply chain vulnerabilities, and rapid logistics demands. She oversees the full lifecycle of acquisitions—from requirement validation and market research to contract award and performance monitoring—focusing on mission-critical components for aircraft engines, avionics, and auxiliary systems. Her work directly supports the agency’s mandate to maintain inventory availability and reduce mission-critical downtime across the Department of Defense’s air operations. Cooper collaborates with a diverse base of manufacturers and suppliers specializing in electronic components and aircraft subsystems, fostering partnerships with both large-tier defense contractors and niche technical firms capable of reproducing legacy or obsolete parts. While specific contractor names are not publicly enumerated, her procurement patterns reflect a preference for vendors with deep engineering expertise in reverse engineering, qualification testing, and certified manufacturing under MIL-SPEC standards. She maintains a collaborative, performance-driven relationship model, emphasizing technical compliance, quality assurance, and supply chain traceability. Cooper’s contracting portfolio exhibits a balanced approach to socioeconomic set-asides, with half of her acquisitions designated for total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, and the other half awarded without restriction. This reflects a strategic commitment to expanding small business participation while maintaining access to specialized technical capabilities. She actively leverages small business programs, including 8(a), HUBZone, and SDVOSB, to cultivate a resilient supplier base capable of meeting urgent aviation sustainment needs. Her primary procurement focus lies within NAICS 334419 (Other Electronic Component Manufacturing) and 336413 (Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing), encompassing circuit boards, sensors, actuators, and non-airframe-specific subsystems. She possesses deep domain expertise in procuring components subject to strict military specifications, with emphasis on reliability, longevity, and compatibility with legacy platforms.