Michelle Shanahan

Michelle Shanahan serves as a key procurement professional within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), supporting the lifecycle acquisition and sustainment of advanced naval aviation systems. She manages complex contracts for guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing, ensuring alignment with the Navy and Marine Corps’ strategic priorities in air superiority, missile defense, and carrier-based modernization. Her work spans the full acquisition lifecycle—from requirements definition and source selection to contract execution and performance oversight—focusing on high-priority defense technologies critical to operational readiness. Shanahan’s portfolio centers on mission-critical systems requiring rigorous technical validation and long-term logistics support. She maintains enduring relationships with leading defense prime contractors including Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and General Atomics, partnering with firms that deliver advanced aircraft platforms, munitions systems, and unmanned aerial systems. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical innovation, and supply chain resilience, often involving multi-year, performance-driven agreements that integrate systems engineering and sustainment support. These partnerships reflect a preference for established industry leaders with proven capabilities in aerospace and defense integration. Shanahan’s contracting activity is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects NAVAIR’s operational imperative to access the broadest possible pool of technical expertise and industrial capacity, prioritizing mission effectiveness over socioeconomic set-asides. While small business participation is not formally structured in her portfolio, all vendors are evaluated on technical merit, past performance, and system readiness. Her primary focus is NAICS 336414—Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing—where she procures advanced weapons systems, precision-guided munitions, flight control systems, and integrated avionics. Her technical domain expertise lies in aerospace defense systems, with deep familiarity in missile propulsion, guidance technologies, and naval aviation integration requirements.