A distinguished panel of experts spoke about current Navy acquisition challenges, readiness, future force development, operational strength, speed to fleet and workforce excellence at the NAVAIR booth on opening day of the Sea-Air-Space Exposition 2026, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, hosted by the Navy League.

Rear Adm. Tony Rossi assumed command as Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO (U&W)) from Rear Adm. Stephen Tedford during a ceremony Nov. 21 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. 

Jason Potter, who is performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition), presided over the ceremony, reflecting on his decade-long history working with Tedford, highly praising his technical acumen.

The Marine Corps Aviation Association (MCAA) John Glenn Squadron presented excellence in aviation awards to six local Marines and four civilians during a ceremony June 2.

Awards, spanning five categories, highlighted achievements in product delivery, test and evaluation, and overall acquisition accomplishment.

Rear Adm. Brian Corey bid farewell to the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO (U&W)) May 19 as he ended his 36-year military career during a change of command and retirement ceremony that focused on leadership and teamwork.

Corey welcomed Rear Adm. Stephen Tedford, his successor at PEO (U&W), which is headquartered at Patuxent River and responsible for the development, production, fielding and sustainment of the Navy’s unmanned aircraft, weapons and target systems.

The U.S. Marine Corps declared Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) on the AH-1Z Viper, March 1.

JAGM, a joint program with the Army, is a precision-guided missile that combines semi-active laser guidance and millimeter-wave radar. It is an air-to-surface precision-guided munition (PGM) used on joint rotary-wing, unmanned aircraft systems, and fixed-wing platforms to destroy high-value, stationary and moving, land and maritime targets.

Four naval aviation program teams were recognized as winners of the 2020 Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) Acquisition Excellence Awards at a virtual ceremony Nov. 5.

NAVAIR AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, Patuxent River, Md. -- The U.S. Navy completed the first captive carry flight test of an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) missile on an F/A-18 Super Hornet June 1 at the Patuxent River test range. 

During the test, the F/A-18 Super Hornet conducted a series of aerial maneuvers in order to evaluate integration and structural characteristics of the AARGM-ER.  Test points were completed across a range of flight conditions to demonstrate carriage compatibility of AARGM-ER with the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

The  Navy’s Precision Strike Weapons program office (PMA-201)  awarded a $3.1 billion business arrangement to The Boeing Company May 13, which includes 1,052 SLAM ER and Harpoon missiles for Saudi Arabia, plus 65 Harpoon missiles for other foreign partners.

The single business arrangement with Boeing consolidated contracts for multiple weapon system development, production, and sustainment efforts into two contracts.  As a result, the U.S. government realized a cost avoidance of approximately $9 million through these actions.

The Navy awarded four prize challenges for the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Expeditionary (MUX) November 21 to multiple vendors for their mission payload design concepts.

The Marine Corps and RQ-21A Blackjack training systems recently completed the first unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) maintenance technician course in preparation for the new schoolhouse scheduled to open next year in Cherry Point, North Carolina.  

The Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical UAS program office (PMA-263) is now finalizing the eight-week pilot course curriculum with the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU), Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, and the students who recently completed the course.