Katrina Brown

Katrina Brown serves as a key procurement lead within the Kessel Run organization of the Department of the Air Force, driving the acquisition of mission-critical software and digital systems that enable agile air and space operations. Responsible for executing rapid, DevSecOps-aligned contracts, she facilitates the delivery of cloud-native, secure, and scalable platforms such as the Aerospace Readiness Enterprise System (ARES). Her work directly supports the agency’s mandate to accelerate software fielding through iterative development and continuous integration, ensuring combat-ready capabilities reach warfighters with minimal delay. She typically manages complex, performance-based acquisitions for software development, systems integration, and cybersecurity-enabled digital infrastructure. Her primary contractor relationships center on THE BOEING COMPANY, reflecting a strategic reliance on large systems integrators with deep aerospace domain expertise and proven capacity to deliver high-assurance, mission-critical software at scale. While Boeing remains the dominant partner, her contracting approach emphasizes performance outcomes over vendor size, fostering long-term, contractually governed partnerships built on agile delivery frameworks and secure development lifecycles. These relationships are characterized by sustained engagement across multiple contract vehicles, enabling continuous modernization of air combat command and control systems. Katrina Brown’s procurement portfolio reflects a strict focus on open competition, with 100% of awards issued under no set-aside classifications. This underscores a deliberate prioritization of technical capability, speed, and mission readiness over socioeconomic preferences, aligning with Kessel Run’s urgent operational imperatives. While small business participation is not formally incentivized in her portfolio, all procurements adhere to full and open competition requirements under FAR Part 6. Her primary procurement focus is squarely on NAICS 334511, encompassing the development and integration of advanced aeronautical systems, navigation, guidance, and command-and-control instrumentation. She specializes in acquiring software-defined capabilities for airborne platforms, including real-time data fusion, secure cloud-based analytics, and embedded avionics systems, reflecting deep technical expertise in defense aerospace software ecosystems.