Craig Neslen

Craig Neslen serves as the LCAT Manufacturing Lead within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate, where he plays a pivotal role in advancing next-generation aerospace propulsion systems and high-performance materials. His responsibilities encompass the end-to-end acquisition lifecycle for complex manufacturing technologies, including advanced composites, hypersonic components, and adaptive thermal management systems. Neslen aligns procurement strategy with AFRL’s mission to accelerate innovation in propulsion and flight-critical materials, ensuring that contracted capabilities meet stringent military performance, durability, and integration requirements. He primarily manages research and development contracts under the 541712 NAICS code, focusing on prototype development, materials characterization, and scalable manufacturing processes for next-generation air and space systems. Neslen maintains consistent partnerships with leading aerospace and advanced manufacturing contractors, including UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Inc, and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC. These relationships are characterized by long-term, technically intensive collaborations centered on proprietary material development, additive manufacturing, and high-temperature component fabrication. His contracting approach emphasizes technical rigor, performance-based outcomes, and iterative prototyping, fostering deep vendor engagement to solve mission-critical challenges in propulsion and hypersonics. Neslen’s procurement portfolio reflects a strict focus on open competition, with 100% of awards issued under no set-aside classifications. This underscores a prioritization of technical capability and mission readiness over socioeconomic categorizations, reflecting the specialized nature of the technologies under acquisition. While small business participation is not formally incentivized through set-asides, vendors of all sizes are evaluated strictly on technical merit, innovation, and proven expertise in high-risk aerospace manufacturing. His primary industry focus is on NAICS 541712, encompassing applied research and development in physical and engineering sciences, particularly in advanced materials, thermal protection systems, and propulsion component manufacturing. Neslen procures specialized services including composite layup automation, ceramic matrix composite processing, hypersonic wind tunnel testing, and high-fidelity modeling of material behavior under extreme environments, supporting the Air Force’s strategic imperatives in air and space dominance.