NAVAIR Jacksonville Wins Raytheon Award
By Shelly Sikes Diaz, NAVAIR Depot Jacksonville Public Affairs Specialist,

Naval Air (NAVAIR) Depot Jacksonville was recently honored by Raytheon Company for achieving outstanding results in a contractual partnership. Representatives from the depot received Raytheon Corporation's Space and Airborne Systems President Award for R6 Sigma Achievements. The award was presented to the team by Mr. William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Corporations, at a national corporate awards ceremony in Dallas, Texas.

Raytheon Corporation and NAVAIR Depot Jacksonville recently began a partnership to service the AN/AAS-44 Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) used in Seahawk Helicopters. Under the terms of the contract, Raytheon manufactures the equipment for the US Navy. When the FLIR is in need of repair, the Naval Fleet sends it back to Raytheon. Raytheon then sends it to the Jacksonville Naval Depot for rework. Upon completion, the equipment is returned to Raytheon, and subsequently to the Fleet. Raytheon essentially acts as a middleman or control point for material handling. The Navy pays Raytheon for equipment, and Raytheon, in turn, pays the depot for repair services.

The contract is the first to bring new workload into the Jacksonville facility, and will bring more than $11 M revenue into the Depot. The goal of the partnership was to make the AN/AAS-44 FLIR more available and reliable to the Naval Fleet.

Raytheon and the depot hoped to exceed 90 percent availability (FLIR available whenever needed by the Fleet). Less than a year after the partnership’s inception, the team was maintaining 100 percent availability. The team also hoped to increase reliability by 50 percent by year three of the contract. This would mean more time between necessary service and repair. This Year Three goal was met before the first anniversary of the contract.

Because of these remarkable achievements, Raytheon presented the depot with an award at the recent Raytheon R6 Sigma Celebration. Commanding officer Captain David Beck stated that he was not surprised at the phenomenal success of the partnership. “Our employees are some of the most talented artisans around,” he said, “This partnership allows us to concentrate on doing what we do best. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, especially the U.S. Naval Fleet.”