The U.S. Navy calls on students across the Southern Maryland region to draw on their innovation and creativity to design Naval Aviation’s next jet in an inaugural competition by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD).
Two U.S. Navy civilians from the F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office (PMA-265) received the Spanish Air and Space Force’s Excellence in Sustainment Award for Foreign Collaboration in Maintenance, becoming the only Americans honored with the distinction in the award’s 17-year history.
John Smith, international programs manager, and Don Valentine, Canadian and Spanish F/A-18 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program manager, were recognized for their outstanding work on PMA-265’s F/A-18 FMS team, during a ceremony March 27 at Zaragoza Air Base in Spain.
As the AV-8B continues to sundown, the AV-8B Weapons Systems Program Office (PMA-257) officially transferred command April 1 from Col. Mark
“Ammo” Amspacher to Capt. Gregory “Mancub” Sutton.
Sutton now serves as program manager for both the Adversary and Specialized Aircraft Program Office (PMA-226) and PMA-257. Also holding a dual leadership role with both programs is the principal deputy program manager, Sam Hotz.
A retired and demilitarized AV-8B Harrier II+ was inducted into the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, Feb. 14, 2025.
“This is a unique opportunity to preserve and share a vital chapter in aviation history while playing a valuable role in inspiring future generations,” said Col. Mark Amspacher, AV-8B Weapon Systems Program Office (PMA-257) program manager. “I hope this piece of Marine Corps history and embodiment of innovation, courage and dedication motivates younger generations to consider a career in aviation and service within the Marine Corps.”
The U.S. Navy declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the F/A-18 E/F Infrared Search and Track (IRST) Block II system in November 2024, providing the fleet with an enhanced capability to search, detect and track airborne targets at long range.
The U.S. Navy declared initial operational capability for the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system in December, bringing a quantum leap in capability over legacy systems with drastic increases in power, target flexibility and jamming technique for naval aviation operations worldwide.
The fleet is one step closer to significant improvements for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye following a recent Delta System Software Configuration (DSSC)-6 Preliminary Design Review (PDR) with the E-2/C-2 Airborne Command & Control Systems Program Office (PMA-231) and industry partner Northrop Grumman.
The DSSC-6 configuration will improve the aircraft significantly by reducing pilot workload, enhanced situational awareness, and bringing vital readiness and reliability upgrades paired with architecture and cybersecurity improvements.
The Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment (ALRE) Program Office (PMA-251) is leading the Navy and Marine Corps’ charge to enhance launch and recover tracking through digital application development.
Tasked with managing launch and recovery systems on land and at sea across the globe, Capt. Mike Kline, PMA-251 program manager, is focused on helping warfighters acquire efficient ALRE system management while keeping a focus on safety.
The Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment (ALRE) Program Office (PMA-251) Information Systems team is revolutionizing Navy and Marine Corps’ shipboard data management with the Marine Aviation Data Management System (MADMS).
After several years of fleet feedback, design changes and adjustments, MADMS emerged a complete, integrated shipboard information system. It’s designed to digitally integrate operational systems, such as weapons, combat cargo, surface operations, shipboard planning, flight operations, and flight deck management.
The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) has selected Jacob Kiehlmeier as the civilian Tester of the Year for 2023. Kiehlmeier served as the lead test engineer for the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) Integrated Test Team (ITT) supporting the Airborne Electronic Attack Systems Program Office (PMA-234).
Kiehlmeier led a national integrated team and provided oversight during comprehensive testing of the Navy’s NGJ-MB electronic warfare pod. NGJ-MB was developed to augment and ultimately replace the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System on the EA-18G Growler.
