Dawn Scher

Dawn Scher serves as a key procurement lead within the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division, overseeing the acquisition of advanced avionics, communications, and mission-critical aircraft subsystems that enable air superiority and fleet readiness. She manages complex technical contracts aligned with the agency’s mission to modernize airborne sensor suites, enhance electronic warfare capabilities, and sustain legacy naval aviation platforms. Her portfolio centers on engineering services, communications equipment manufacturing, and fiber optic system integration, ensuring timely delivery of mission-essential technologies to operational squadrons and test ranges. Scher maintains strong working 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 balanced approach between large prime contractors delivering integrated systems and specialized firms providing niche technical solutions. Her contracting patterns emphasize collaborative acquisition strategies, often leveraging indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) vehicles and performance-based task orders to ensure agility and technical precision across evolving program requirements. A strong advocate for small business participation, Scher consistently prioritizes Total Small Business Set-Asides, with nearly two-thirds of her acquisitions structured under FAR 19.5 to foster competition among small disadvantaged firms. Her socioeconomic contracting patterns demonstrate a deliberate commitment to expanding opportunities for small businesses in high-tech aerospace and defense sectors, aligning with Department of the Navy mandates for inclusive innovation. Her primary NAICS focus spans Other Computer Related Services (541519), Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing (335921), and Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334290), reflecting deep expertise in digital signal processing, secure data transmission, and embedded avionics hardware. She routinely procures custom-designed communication networks, ruggedized fiber-optic assemblies, and mission-critical software integration services that directly support next-generation naval aircraft platforms.