Waleska Hernandez

Waleska Hernandez serves as a Contract Specialist within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where she plays a critical role in managing the acquisition lifecycle for advanced naval aviation systems. She is responsible for formulating, negotiating, and administering complex contracts for mission-critical aerospace and weapons systems, ensuring compliance with federal procurement regulations and NAVAIR’s strategic modernization goals. Her portfolio primarily encompasses the procurement of guided missile systems, avionics, and supporting logistics infrastructure essential to maintaining air superiority for the Navy and Marine Corps. Hernandez works closely with engineering and program management teams to align contractual requirements with technical specifications and operational readiness timelines. She maintains consistent contracting relationships with leading defense prime contractors including Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and General Atomics, frequently engaging them on high-technology systems integration, sustainment, and upgrade initiatives. Her procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting and risk mitigation through robust contract clauses, ensuring accountability across the full lifecycle of complex aerospace platforms. These partnerships are characterized by long-term collaboration on classified and unclassified programs requiring stringent security protocols and technical oversight. Hernandez’s contracting activity is entirely non-set-aside, reflecting the nature of NAVAIR’s large-scale, mission-essential acquisitions that require specialized capabilities only available through established defense industry primes. While small business participation is not a primary focus in her portfolio, her work supports broader agency goals through subcontracting oversight and prime contractor compliance with small business subcontracting plans. Her procurement focus centers on NAICS 336419 and 336414, specializing in guided missile components and aerospace vehicle manufacturing, with additional emphasis on 334511 for navigation and guidance systems. She routinely manages contracts for radar systems, electronic warfare suites, flight control avionics, and integrated weapons delivery platforms, demonstrating deep expertise in defense aerospace engineering domains and the regulatory frameworks governing their acquisition.