Catherine V Rippeon

Catherine V. Rippeon serves as a key procurement lead within the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division, managing complex acquisitions that advance naval aviation systems critical to air superiority and fleet readiness. She specializes in engineering services and research and development contracts supporting the integration of next-generation avionics, electronic warfare systems, and mission-critical aircraft subsystems. Her work directly enables the modernization of airborne sensor suites and the sustainment of legacy platforms, ensuring operational continuity across the Navy’s evolving air fleet. Rippeon’s acquisitions are strategically aligned with the agency’s mission to deliver cutting-edge technical capabilities through rigorous systems engineering and technical evaluation processes. She maintains consistent partnerships with leading defense contractors including SABRE SYSTEMS, LLC, THE BOEING COMPANY, SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, SYSTEMS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS, INC., and ONTIC ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING, INC. These relationships reflect a preference for established industry partners with proven expertise in aerospace systems integration, signal processing, and mission systems development. Rippeon’s contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical innovation, and long-term sustainment support, fostering collaborative vendor engagement across the full lifecycle of naval aviation programs. While the majority of her acquisitions are conducted as unrestricted procurements, she consistently allocates 20% of contract opportunities as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a structured commitment to small business participation. Her socioeconomic contracting patterns prioritize qualified small businesses capable of delivering specialized engineering and R&D services, aligning with the agency’s broader goals of fostering a resilient, diverse defense industrial base. Her procurement focus is overwhelmingly centered on NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services) and NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), reflecting deep technical expertise in avionics architecture, systems engineering, and advanced sensor development. She procures high-assurance, mission-critical systems requiring rigorous compliance with military standards and certification protocols.