Richard Childres

Richard C. Childres serves as a Contract Specialist within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s FA8750 organization, where he plays a critical role in executing complex R&D acquisitions to advance next-generation aerospace and defense technologies. He manages the full lifecycle of contracts for scientific and engineering services, including autonomous systems, resilient communications, AI-enabled battle-space awareness, and quantum-enabled sensing. His work directly supports the agency’s mission to translate foundational science into operational capability, focusing on high-risk, high-reward technical initiatives requiring specialized expertise and agile contracting approaches. Childres maintains established relationships with leading defense and technology contractors, including Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, Eaton Corporation, Technergetics, LLC, and Caelight, Inc. These partnerships reflect a blend of large prime contractors delivering integrated systems and niche vendors providing specialized instrumentation, software, and advanced components. His procurement patterns emphasize technical rigor, performance-based outcomes, and long-term collaboration with vendors capable of meeting stringent aerospace and classified environment requirements. While the majority of his acquisitions are unrestricted, Childres demonstrates a strong commitment to small business participation, with approximately 27.9% of awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. He actively supports Women-Owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, aligning with DoD socioeconomic goals while ensuring access to innovative capabilities from emerging vendors. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS categories related to analytical laboratory instrumentation, electrical signal measurement, semiconductor manufacturing, and wireless communications equipment. He routinely acquires advanced sensors, test and measurement systems, embedded hardware, and specialized software tools critical to R&D in physics-based modeling, signal processing, and quantum device characterization—reflecting deep technical alignment with the lab’s mission in next-generation sensing and autonomy.