Sarah Carter

Sarah Carter serves as a key procurement lead within the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division, overseeing the acquisition of mission-critical aviation systems that support air superiority and fleet readiness. She manages complex contracting actions for advanced avionics, electronic warfare subsystems, and mission-critical aircraft integration programs, ensuring alignment with the Department of Defense’s modernization priorities. Her work spans the full acquisition lifecycle—from requirements definition and source selection to contract execution and performance oversight—focusing on high-technology, low-volume systems that demand rigorous testing and certification. She plays a central role in translating operational needs into actionable procurement strategies that maintain technical superiority across naval aviation platforms. Carter maintains longstanding relationships with top-tier defense contractors 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 preference for established industry leaders with proven expertise in aerospace systems integration, embedded computing, and mission systems engineering. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical rigor, and risk mitigation, often involving long-term support contracts for sustainment and modernization of legacy and next-generation platforms. Carter’s portfolio reflects a strict focus on full and open competition, with no set-asides applied to her acquisitions. This reflects the highly specialized nature of the systems procured, which require advanced technical capabilities typically found only among large, cleared defense contractors with deep aerospace and cybersecurity expertise. While small business participation is not a primary mechanism in her portfolio, her contracting decisions prioritize mission capability over socioeconomic preferences, consistent with the technical demands of naval aviation modernization. Her procurement activity centers on three core NAICS categories: Aircraft Engine and Engine Parts Manufacturing, Hardware Manufacturing, and Computing Infrastructure Providers. She routinely acquires high-reliability avionics, ruggedized computing hardware, secure data processing systems, and integrated sensor suites—technologies essential to modern naval aircraft. Her domain expertise lies at the intersection of aerospace engineering and mission-critical IT infrastructure, ensuring platforms remain operationally viable in contested electromagnetic environments.