Kevin E. Silva

Kevin E. Silva serves as a Contract Negotiator at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, where he plays a pivotal role in advancing the Department of the Navy’s mission to develop and field cutting-edge maritime warfare systems. He manages complex acquisitions for advanced sensor, navigation, electronic warfare, and integrated communication technologies critical to undersea, surface, and aerial domain superiority. His work ensures timely and compliant procurement of mission-critical capabilities through rigorous negotiation, risk assessment, and contract administration, aligning acquisitions with Navy innovation priorities and defense acquisition regulations. Silva maintains strong, ongoing relationships with key industry partners including Science Applications International Corporation, Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC, Astronics Test Systems Inc, Serco Inc, and Mikel Inc. These contractors provide specialized engineering services, test instrumentation, and system integration solutions essential to NUWC’s RDT&E mission. His contracting approach emphasizes technical collaboration, performance-based outcomes, and long-term vendor engagement, fostering trust and reliability with firms capable of delivering high-assurance, mission-essential systems under demanding operational conditions. While the majority of his acquisitions—83.3%—are conducted without set-asides, Silva consistently supports small business participation, with 16.7% of awards structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a measured commitment to socioeconomic goals, prioritizing capability and readiness while ensuring opportunities for qualified small businesses with proven expertise in defense technology domains. His procurement focus centers on NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services), which accounts for over half of his portfolio, followed by 334515 (Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals) and 334511 (Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing). He routinely procures high-precision test equipment, sonar and acoustic array components, electronic warfare subsystems, and mission-critical software-defined systems, demonstrating deep technical fluency in naval sensor and communication domains.