Cathy A. Schoonover

Cathy A. Schoonover serves as a Contracting Officer responsible for managing complex acquisitions in the aerospace and defense technology sector. Her role centers on ensuring compliance with federal procurement regulations while delivering mission-critical systems for national security and aviation applications. She oversees the full lifecycle of contract actions—from solicitation and evaluation to award and administration—primarily focusing on high-precision instrumentation and navigation systems. Her expertise lies in technical procurement requiring rigorous performance standards, systems integration, and compliance with defense-specific standards such as MIL-STD and ITAR. Schoonover maintains a streamlined contracting approach, engaging with a broad base of qualified vendors specializing in advanced electronics and avionics. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently collaborates with firms possessing deep technical capabilities in sensor design, guidance systems, and aeronautical instrumentation. Her working relationships are characterized by a focus on technical proficiency, past performance, and regulatory compliance rather than long-term exclusive partnerships, promoting competitive bidding and innovation across the industrial base. Her procurement patterns reflect a strong preference for unrestricted competition, with 100% of her awards issued under non-set-aside authorities. This indicates a deliberate focus on technical merit and performance capability over socioeconomic classifications, aligning with mission-critical requirements where specialized expertise outweighs socioeconomic targeting. While small business participation is not formally prioritized through set-asides, she remains attentive to the capabilities of all qualified offerors, including small businesses that meet stringent technical criteria. Schoonover’s primary focus is NAICS 334511, encompassing the design and manufacture of search, detection, navigation, guidance, and aeronautical systems and instruments. She routinely procures radar systems, flight control instrumentation, terrain-following sensors, and other mission-critical avionics used in defense and aerospace platforms. Her domain expertise includes systems requiring high reliability, electromagnetic compatibility, and environmental resilience, positioning her as a specialist in technically complex, low-volume, high-precision procurements critical to national defense infrastructure.