Josephine Hedenstrom

Josephine Hedenstrom serves as a key procurement lead within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (FA8650), driving the acquisition of advanced aerospace propulsion systems, hypersonic technologies, and high-performance functional materials critical to U.S. air and space dominance. She manages complex research and development contracts that bridge fundamental science with operational capability, focusing on flight control systems, adaptive propulsion architectures, and next-generation thermal protection materials. Her work directly supports AFRL’s mission to accelerate innovation from lab to field, ensuring timely delivery of cutting-edge propulsion solutions through structured contracting pathways that prioritize technical rigor and mission readiness. She maintains consistent, high-impact relationships with industry leaders including UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Inc., and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC, engaging them primarily for advanced engineering services, materials development, and systems integration. These partnerships are characterized by long-term, performance-based contract structures that encourage innovation, rapid prototyping, and technical collaboration under cost-reimbursement and other flexible acquisition vehicles suited for high-risk R&D environments. Hedenstrom exhibits a strong and exclusive preference for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-asides, with 100% of her acquisitions structured to prioritize this socioeconomic category. This reflects a deliberate and sustained commitment to fostering veteran-led innovation within the national defense industrial base, ensuring that small businesses with specialized technical expertise have equitable access to high-stakes propulsion and materials contracts. Her procurement activity is entirely focused on NAICS 611512 (Flight Training), indicating a specialized emphasis on contractor-provided technical training, simulation systems, and workforce development programs tied to propulsion and hypersonic platform operations. This unique alignment underscores her role in ensuring that operational units are fully prepared to deploy and sustain next-generation propulsion technologies through targeted, mission-critical training solutions.