Lori A Raley

Lori A. Raley serves as a Contract Specialist within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where she plays a critical role in executing the acquisition lifecycle for advanced naval aviation systems. Responsible for planning, soliciting, awarding, and managing contracts, she ensures alignment with NAVAIR’s mission to develop, test, and sustain cutting-edge aircraft, weapons, and avionics for the Navy and Marine Corps. Her portfolio centers on complex technical procurements involving aerospace systems, sensor technologies, and mission-critical logistics support, requiring deep expertise in defense acquisition regulations and performance-based contracting methods. Raley maintains consistent, long-term relationships with leading defense prime contractors including Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and General Atomics, who provide advanced rotorcraft, strike aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, and integrated combat solutions. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance outcomes, risk mitigation, and lifecycle sustainment, fostering collaborative partnerships with industry to meet evolving operational requirements. These relationships are characterized by high-volume, high-complexity contract actions that demand rigorous technical evaluation and compliance with Department of Defense acquisition standards. Raley’s procurement activity reflects a strong preference for full and open competition, with 100% of her awards issued under no set-aside categories. This indicates a strategic focus on leveraging the broadest possible industrial base to achieve technical superiority, rather than targeting socioeconomic programs such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides. Her approach prioritizes mission capability and system readiness over socioeconomic preferences, consistent with NAVAIR’s emphasis on rapid fielding of advanced capabilities. Her primary focus is on NAICS 334511—Aeronautical and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing—reflecting deep specialization in the procurement of flight control systems, radar and targeting sensors, electronic warfare suites, and integrated avionics architectures. She routinely manages contracts for hardware and software systems critical to carrier-based and expeditionary air operations, demonstrating expertise in high-stakes, technology-intensive defense procurement environments.