Cheri Swailes

Cheri Swailes serves as a key procurement professional within the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division, supporting the development, testing, and sustainment of advanced naval aviation systems. She manages complex acquisitions for mission-critical avionics, electronic warfare systems, and integrated communications platforms, ensuring alignment with the Navy’s strategic modernization goals. Her work directly enables the integration of next-generation sensor suites and aircraft subsystems into frontline platforms, with a focus on technical rigor, lifecycle sustainment, and operational readiness. Swailes routinely handles engineering services and specialized manufacturing contracts under FAR Part 15, emphasizing performance-based outcomes and technical evaluation criteria. She maintains strong, long-term relationships 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 partnerships reflect a preference for established industry leaders with proven capabilities in airborne systems integration, RF communications, and precision component manufacturing. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical proficiency, past performance, and systems engineering expertise, often requiring rigorous source selection and risk mitigation strategies. While the majority of her acquisitions are unrestricted, Swailes consistently allocates approximately 28.6% of her portfolio to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a deliberate commitment to small business participation. She prioritizes firms with demonstrated technical competence in aerospace and defense engineering, fostering a competitive environment that balances innovation with mission-critical reliability. Her procurement focus centers on NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services) and 334220 (Radio and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing), reflecting deep expertise in avionics architecture, electronic warfare countermeasures, and mission system integration. She regularly procures custom-designed electronic components, signal processing hardware, and embedded software systems essential to maintaining air superiority across the naval fleet.