Mark Highland

Mark Highland serves as the primary contracting lead for the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Huntsville, overseeing the acquisition of mission-critical aviation components essential to U.S. military readiness. His role centers on managing complex procurement actions for high-integrity avionics, propulsion subsystems, and auxiliary aircraft equipment, ensuring timely delivery of technically rigorous hardware to sustain combat-coded platforms. He operates within the Department of Defense’s sustainment ecosystem, prioritizing supply chain resilience and technological modernization for legacy and next-generation aerospace systems, with a focus on mission-critical reliability and compliance with defense acquisition regulations. Highland maintains enduring relationships with industry leaders including BAE Systems Land and Armaments L.P., L3Harris Fuzing and Ordnance Systems, Inc., and Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation, partnering primarily with established defense primes possessing ITAR compliance, AS9100 certification, and classified facility clearances. His contracting patterns reflect a preference for full and open competition, leveraging long-standing vendor expertise in aerospace electronics, flight control systems, and propulsion integration. These partnerships are characterized by technical collaboration, rigorous performance monitoring, and adherence to defense-specific quality standards. Set-asides are rarely utilized, with 95.8% of acquisitions conducted under full and open competition, reflecting the specialized nature of the hardware procured and the limited pool of qualified vendors capable of meeting stringent military performance and security requirements. While small business participation is minimal, the 4.2% allocated to total small business set-asides indicates targeted efforts to engage capable niche suppliers where technical feasibility permits. Highland’s procurement portfolio is dominated by NAICS 336413 (Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing) and 334511 (Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing), underscoring deep expertise in avionics architecture, mission computer integration, and flight-critical instrumentation. He routinely acquires embedded systems, sensor interfaces, and power distribution units critical to aircraft survivability and operational effectiveness.