Gloriana Fernandez-Castro

Gloriana Fernandez-Castro serves as a key procurement professional within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), supporting the lifecycle acquisition and sustainment of critical naval aviation systems. She plays a central role in executing complex contracts for aircraft manufacturing and propulsion systems, ensuring alignment with the Navy and Marine Corps’ strategic modernization goals. Her responsibilities encompass full-cycle contracting for high-priority platforms, including carrier-based and expeditionary aircraft, avionics, and integrated weapon systems. Fernandez-Castro’s work directly enables operational readiness by facilitating timely delivery of mission-critical aerospace technologies through rigorous acquisition planning and risk-managed contract execution. She maintains sustained relationships with industry leaders such as Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and General Atomics, partnering primarily with prime contractors capable of delivering advanced aerospace systems under stringent military specifications. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for established defense industrial base partners with proven track records in systems integration, flight certification, and logistics sustainment. These relationships are characterized by long-term contract performance, technical collaboration, and adherence to defense acquisition regulations, ensuring continuity across program phases. Fernandez-Castro’s procurement portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic focus on maximizing technical capability and industrial capacity from the highest-tier defense contractors, prioritizing mission performance over socioeconomic set-asides. While small business participation is not a primary contracting mechanism in her portfolio, her processes remain fully compliant with federal acquisition regulations and emphasize value-driven outcomes. Her primary procurement focus lies within NAICS 336411 (Aircraft Manufacturing) and 336412 (Aircraft Engine and Engine Parts Manufacturing), specializing in the acquisition of manned and unmanned aerial platforms, propulsion systems, and associated avionics. She possesses deep expertise in procuring technically complex systems requiring certification under MIL-STD and DO-160 standards, with a strong emphasis on airworthiness, reliability, and sustainment readiness.