Mary E Carter

Mary E. Carter serves as a Contract Specialist at the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division, where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex procurements that support the development, testing, and sustainment of advanced naval aviation systems. She manages the full lifecycle of acquisitions for mission-critical avionics, electronic warfare subsystems, and communication technologies, ensuring alignment with the Navy’s strategic priorities in air superiority and fleet readiness. Her work encompasses competitive and non-competitive contracting methods under FAR and NAVAIR-specific policies, with a focus on technical services and specialized manufacturing that enable next-generation aircraft capabilities. Carter maintains longstanding relationships with key industry partners including SABRE SYSTEMS, LLC, THE BOEING COMPANY, SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, SYSTEMS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS, INC., and ONTIC ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING, INC. These partnerships reflect a balanced mix of large prime contractors delivering integrated systems and specialized firms providing niche engineering and technical consulting. Her procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting, technical risk mitigation, and rigorous source selection processes to ensure mission-critical deliverables meet stringent military standards. While the majority of her acquisitions are conducted as open, unrestricted competitions (80%), she consistently prioritizes 8(a) competed set-asides (20%) to foster innovation from small disadvantaged businesses. Her socioeconomic strategy reflects a deliberate effort to expand the base of qualified small business vendors in high-technical domains without compromising mission requirements. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541690 (Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services) and 541330 (Engineering Services), with significant activity in 334220 (Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing). She specializes in acquiring advanced signal processing, mission computer integration, secure data links, and airborne sensor modernization services, demonstrating deep expertise in defense electronics and systems engineering procurement.