Tara E Flores

Tara E. Flores serves as a Contract Specialist at the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division, where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex acquisitions for advanced naval aviation systems. Her responsibilities include managing the full lifecycle of contract actions—from solicitation and evaluation to award and administration—ensuring compliance with federal regulations and alignment with the agency’s mission to modernize airborne sensor suites, electronic warfare capabilities, and mission-critical aircraft subsystems. She routinely handles high-stakes procurements in engineering services, aircraft component manufacturing, and testing laboratories, supporting the development and sustainment of next-generation naval air platforms. Flores maintains consistent working relationships with key industry partners including SABRE SYSTEMS, LLC, The Boeing Company, SAIC, Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc., and ONTIC ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING, INC. These contractors provide critical expertise in avionics integration, systems engineering, and specialized aircraft parts manufacturing. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical rigor, performance-based outcomes, and long-term sustainment partnerships with established defense primes and mid-tier suppliers capable of delivering mission-critical hardware and engineering solutions. Her contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for full and open competition, with 94.4% of awards issued without set-asides. Only 5.6% of her acquisitions are designated as HUBZone set-asides, indicating a focus on capability and readiness over socioeconomic preferences, though she remains compliant with all small business program requirements. This pattern underscores her prioritization of technical merit and mission necessity in a highly specialized procurement environment. Flores primarily supports NAICS 336413 (Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing), 336411 (Aircraft Manufacturing), and 541330 (Engineering Services), reflecting deep expertise in procuring airborne subsystems, flight control components, and systems integration services. Her portfolio centers on avionics, navigation, communications, and electronic warfare technologies essential to maintaining air superiority across the Navy’s fleet.