Khaliah Burns

Khaliah Burns serves as a key procurement professional within the Missile Defense Agency, supporting the acquisition of advanced missile defense systems critical to national security. Responsible for managing complex contracting actions across research, development, and fielding programs, Burns facilitates the integration of layered defense architectures by securing cutting-edge sensor technologies, guidance systems, and interceptors. Her work directly enables MDA’s mission to counter ballistic missile threats across all phases of flight, with a focus on midcourse and terminal-phase capabilities. She routinely handles high-stakes, technically demanding acquisitions requiring stringent compliance with defense acquisition regulations and rapid prototyping authorities. Burns maintains consistent working relationships with prime contractors including Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, and Jacobs Technology Inc., all of which provide core engineering, systems integration, and test services for missile defense platforms. Her procurement patterns reflect deep collaboration with industry leaders possessing proven expertise in radar modernization, kinetic interceptors, and command and control architectures. These partnerships are characterized by long-term strategic alignment, technical rigor, and iterative development cycles aligned with MDA’s evolutionary acquisition strategy. Her contracting portfolio is overwhelmingly dominated by open competitions, with 88.9% of awards issued without set-aside restrictions, reflecting the specialized nature of missile defense technologies and the limited pool of qualified vendors. However, she consistently allocates 11.1% of awards to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a measured commitment to small business participation within a high-barrier technical environment. Burns’ acquisitions are heavily concentrated in NAICS 334511 for search, detection, and guidance systems, followed by engineering services (541330) and physical sciences R&D (541715). She procures advanced electro-optical sensors, radar signal processors, flight control systems, and simulation tools critical to missile defense testing and operational deployment, underscoring her deep technical fluency in aerospace defense domains.