Mr. Chad Salisbury

Mr. Chad Salisbury serves as a key procurement lead within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s FA8750 Rik office, overseeing the acquisition of advanced research and development services critical to next-generation aerospace and defense systems. He manages a portfolio of scientific and engineering contracts focused on autonomous systems, resilient communications, AI-driven battle-space awareness, and quantum-enabled technologies. His role centers on translating mission-critical R&D priorities into actionable contracting strategies, ensuring alignment with Department of the Air Force innovation goals. Salisbury routinely handles complex, high-risk R&D solicitations requiring technical rigor, agile acquisition frameworks, and close collaboration with scientific teams to define performance metrics and deliverables. His primary contractor relationships include established defense and aerospace innovators such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, and Eaton Corporation, alongside specialized technology firms like Technergetics, LLC and Caelight, Inc. These partnerships reflect a preference for vendors with proven expertise in physical sciences, free-space optical systems, and advanced materials development. Salisbury’s contracting approach emphasizes long-term technical collaboration over transactional procurement, fostering deep vendor engagement in early-stage concept development and prototype validation cycles. Salisbury’s acquisition portfolio shows no use of socioeconomic set-asides, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a mission-driven prioritization of technical capability and speed over socioeconomic targeting, consistent with the high-consequence, classified, and time-sensitive nature of R&D projects under FA8750. While small businesses are not formally set-aside, several of his key contractors are small entities with niche technical expertise, indicating informal but effective integration of agile innovators into the acquisition stream. His procurement activity is exclusively concentrated under NAICS 541715, encompassing research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences. He specializes in procuring foundational technologies including quantum sensors, AI-enabled signal processing, adaptive optics, and resilient network architectures, ensuring the Air Force maintains technological superiority through scientifically rigorous, non-redundant innovation pipelines.