Chris Yates

Christine Yates serves as a key procurement professional within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), supporting the lifecycle acquisition and sustainment of naval aviation systems critical to U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operational readiness. She manages complex contracts spanning aircraft components, engineering services, and logistics support, ensuring alignment with NAVAIR’s mission to modernize carrier-based and expeditionary air platforms. Her work encompasses the full spectrum of defense acquisition phases—from requirements definition through contract award and performance oversight—focusing on technical solutions that enhance air superiority, avionics integration, and mission-critical sustainment. Yates maintains consistent contracting relationships with leading aerospace and defense prime contractors, including Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and General Atomics, partnering with organizations capable of delivering advanced aircraft systems, unmanned aerial platforms, and mission-specific avionics. She also collaborates with specialized logistics and training providers such as Global Air Logistics and Training, Inc., ensuring integrated support ecosystems for fleet readiness. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical rigor, performance-based contracting, and long-term sustainment partnerships with industry leaders possessing deep domain expertise in naval aviation. While the majority of her acquisitions are conducted under full and open competition, Yates demonstrates a deliberate commitment to small business participation, with approximately 25% of her portfolio structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. She actively cultivates partnerships with qualified small businesses capable of delivering engineering, manufacturing, and management consulting services, reinforcing NAVAIR’s socioeconomic goals without compromising mission-critical performance standards. Her procurement focus centers on NAICS codes 332710 (Machine Shops), 336413 (Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing), and 541330 (Engineering Services), reflecting a technical emphasis on precision manufacturing, aircraft subsystems, and systems engineering support. She also frequently procures administrative and management consulting services under 541611 to optimize acquisition workflows and program execution, demonstrating a nuanced understanding of both technical and operational requirements across the naval aviation enterprise.