The Navy’s Specialized and Proven Aircraft Program Office’s (PMA-226) Adversary Aircraft Team won the DoD Acquisition Workforce Award for flexibility in contracting Dec. 14 in a virtual ceremony with senior leadership. 

The PMA-226 Adversary Aircraft Team employed a novel strategy to modernize Navy and Marine Corps F-5 aircraft by combining an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contracting approach while leveraging existing commercial technology and an abbreviated test program to increase affordability, capability, and safety. 

The Specialized and Proven Aircraft program office’s (PMA-226) Principal Deputy Program Manager Andy Wilkinson received the Department of the Navy’s Acquisition Excellence Award for Acquisition Professional of the Year Nov.3 at a ceremony held in the Pentagon.  

The Navy Acquisition Excellence Awards recognize individuals and organizations that have demonstrated excellent performance in the acquisition and sustainment of products and services for the Navy and Marine Corps.

The Navy’s Specialized and Proven Aircraft program office (PMA-226) F-5N+/F+ Avionics Reconfiguration and Tactical Enhancement/Modernization for Inventory Standardization (ARTEMIS) program successfully reached Milestone C decision June 28, effectively moving into production and deployment. 

NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. Carl Chebi recognized the Specialized and Proven Aircraft program office (PMA-226) Adversary Aircraft team with a NAVAIR Commander’s Award for procurement with most innovative reduction in cost and cycle time during the Commander’s Awards  ceremony April 20 at  Patuxent River.

The Adversary Aircraft team’s novel strategy to modernize Navy and Marine Corps F-5 aircraft reduced development cost by 78 percent, procurement cycle time by 68 percent and resulted in fleet delivery of the first modernized F-5 aircraft in less than three years.

The Specialized and Proven Aircraft program office (PMA-226) welcomed a new program manager during a ceremony held 7 April in Cherry Point, N.C. 

Program Executive Officer for Aviation Common Systems and Commercial Services (PEO(CS)), Mr. Gary M. Kurtz, presided over the change of command ceremony during which Capt. Gregory Sutton assumed command of PMA-226 from Capt. Ramiro Flores. 

The Navy is conducting planned, routine training missions using contracted air support F-5 aircraft out of Moffett Federal Airfield (Moffett) in Santa Clara County, Calif. until mid-March.  

The Navy’s Program Executive Officer for Aviation Common Systems and Commercial Services (PEO(CS)), Mr. Gary M. Kurtz, presented the DoD Distinguished Civilian Service Award to Edward A. “Andy” Wilkinson, principal deputy program manager for the Specialized and Proven Aircraft program office (PMA-226) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. on 3 Feb. 

The Specialized and Proven Aircraft program office (PMA-226) recently completed a modification on several U.S. Navy F-16A Fighting Falcon aircraft to increase readiness and service life.

The FalconUp modification improves F-16A readiness by extending their fatigue lives by over 500 hours and provides the configuration baseline to incorporate the funded Falcon Star program, which adds an additional 3750 hours to the service life of the aircraft.