Deborah A Flaherty

Deborah A. Flaherty serves as a Contract Specialist within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where she plays a critical role in executing complex acquisitions for naval aviation systems across the full lifecycle—from research and development through sustainment. Her work supports NAVAIR’s mission to maintain air superiority by procuring advanced aircraft, weapons, avionics, and mission-critical logistics infrastructure. Flaherty specializes in managing competitive and sole-source contracts under FAR and DFARS frameworks, with a focus on technical procurement actions requiring deep engineering and systems integration expertise. She routinely handles high-stakes, mission-essential contracts for next-generation naval aviation platforms and supporting technologies. Flaherty maintains consistent procurement relationships with leading defense prime contractors, including Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and General Atomics, partnering with them on integrated systems development, flight testing, and sustainment services. Her contracting patterns reflect long-term, performance-based collaborations with industry leaders possessing specialized aerospace and defense capabilities. These partnerships are typically structured around performance-based logistics, technical data rights, and risk-sharing arrangements designed to ensure operational readiness and system reliability for Navy and Marine Corps aviation assets. Flaherty’s procurement portfolio reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her awards issued under no set-aside classifications. This underscores a strategic focus on maximizing technical capability and industrial base efficiency rather than socioeconomic set-asides, aligning with NAVAIR’s priority to procure the most capable systems available from the full spectrum of qualified industry partners. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services), 336414 (Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing), and 336411 (Aircraft Manufacturing), reflecting deep engagement in systems engineering, missile defense technologies, and carrier-based aircraft integration. She routinely manages contracts for advanced avionics, propulsion subsystems, ordnance integration, and mission-critical support equipment, demonstrating specialized expertise in the technical domains of naval aviation systems acquisition.