Edward W. Ayer is the Vice Director of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex, headquartered at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. The Complex employs more than 3,000 people and comprises more than 68 aerospace test facilities across eight states. With facilities at Arnold Air Force Base in middle Tennessee and operating locations at the Federal Research Center at White Oak near Silver Spring, Md.; at Ames Research Center, in Mountain View, Calif.; Edwards AFB, Calif.; Eglin AFB, Fla.; Holloman AFB, Kirtland AFB and White Sands Missile Range, N.M.; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, AEDC offers a suite of test capabilities to simulate speed, temperature, pressure and other parameters over a wide range to meet the needs of aerospace system developers. The test facilities simulate flight from subsonic to hypersonic speeds at altitudes from sea level to space. All NASA manned spacecraft and every high performance aircraft, missile, most space launch systems and many military satellites in use by the Department of Defense today have been tested at the Complex.
Mr. Ayer began his career with the U.S. Air Force as a cooperative education engineering technician in the Damage Tolerance Analysis labs at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC). He was hired in-place as an aerospace engineer upon graduation. Mr. Ayer accomplished finite element and damage tolerance analysis for a broad array of program offices. Mr. Ayer was assigned to the Rotary Wing Division of the Special Operation Forces (SOF) System Program Office at WR-ALC. As Lead Engineer on the HH/MH-60G Combat Search and Rescue platform, he lead a team of over 65 government and contractor engineers converting 112 basic UH-60A/L to missionized HH/MH-60G at the Naval Aviation Depot Pensacola. This conversion process incorporated range extension/aerial refueling systems, structural enhancements, Electronic Warfare Suites, Defensive Weapons, and a vast suite of integrated communications, navigation, intelligence and special mission sensors to enable covert operations. Mr. Ayer served as a worldwide USAF rotary wing aircraft mishap investigation advisor serving on 4 Class A mishap investigations and numerous Class B mishap investigations. Mr. Ayer later served as lead avionics engineer for all SOF Forward Looking Infrared Sensors (FLIR) in the USAF and foreign military sales inventory and provided process engineering oversight of the SOF FLIR repair activities in the 402 Electronic Maintenance Group at WR-ALC.
Mr. Ayer moved to the Acquisition Center of Excellence (ACE) within WR-ALC contracting where he served as a program/logistics manager and engineering advisor to acquisitions at WR-ALC totaling over 200 actions valued in excess of $3.0B. He provided acquisition subject matter expertise supporting the development of a broad array of public private partnerships, acquisition strategies, contract solicitations, and source selections.
Mr. Ayer led a team as a logistics manager developing the long term sustainment environment for the C-130J/C-27J. He created an innovative public private partnership with Lockheed Martin Aero, Rolls-Royce, and Dowty Propeller valued at $10.7B. This partnership incorporated an integrated program office in concert with a five-member nation Joint Users Group providing sustainment support to the USAF fleet while enabling organic depot activation of C-130J/C-27 unique commodities.
Mr. Ayer became the C-17 industrial operations business manager for the 402 Maintenance Wing managing and enhancing an annual $40M+ public private partnership growing it to over $150M annually. Mr. Ayer became the Deputy Director of the 562 Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AMXS) overseeing all C-17 heavy maintenance and modification activities in the 402nd MXW. Mr. Ayer was promoted to become the 562 AMXS Director where he led the 875 person Squadron executing over 1M man-hours annually.
Mr. Ayer was the Acting Associate Director of Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC), Robins Air Force Base, Georgia where he oversaw the Functional Management of more than 2500 S&E personnel at Robins Air Force Base Georgia. He also oversaw the technical execution of Non-Destructive Inspection production and technical data development activities and liaison engineering support to the Maintenance Complex Production Squadrons.
Mr. Ayer was the Technical Director, Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Sustainment Center. (AFSC/EN) Mr. Ayer provided aerospace systems engineering; life cycle logistics; aircraft, electrical, and avionics production expertise; and Airworthiness Assurance expertise for Commercial Derivative Aircraft to the Director of Engineering for the Air Force Sustainment Center.
Mr. Ayer was the Director, Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/EN). Mr. Ayer provides aerospace systems engineering, Science and Technology (S&T) program management, and Airworthiness Authority expertise to the AFRL Commander, for S&T research, experimentation, and demonstration. Mr. Ayer is the Center Senior Functional for the Science Technology Manager Career Field managing over 4000 Scientist and Engineers. He is also the Executive Agent for the Air Force Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach program.
EDUCATION
June 1988, Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering, Auburn University
June 2002, Air War College by Correspondence, The Air University
June 2004, Master of Logistics, Georgia College and State University
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
14. Oct 2018 – Present Executive Director, Arnold Engineering Development Complex, headquartered at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn.
13. June 2016 – Sep 2018 Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
12. November 2013 – June 2016 Technical Director, Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker AFB, Okla.
11. April 2013 – November 2013, Acting Associate Director of Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins AFB, Ga.
10. March 2011 – April 2013, Director, 562nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Industrial Production Manager, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, Robins AFB, Ga.
9. September 2010 – March 2011, Deputy Director, 562nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Industrial Production Manager, WR-ALC
8. August 2008 – September 2010, Chief, 402 MXW/OB-3, C-17 Depot Enterprise Business Office, Supervisory Depot Maintenance Program Manager, WR-ALC
7. April 2002 – August 2008, Chief, 330 ACSG/GFLC C-130J/C-27J Sustainment Flight, Supervisory Logistics Management Specialist, WR-ALC
6. September 1998 – December 2002, Engineering and Program Management Advisor, WR‑ALC/PKA Acquisition Center of Excellence (ACE)
5. June 1995 – September 1998 Electrical Engineer, Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) Sensor, WR‑ALC/LUNE
4. August 1989 – June 1995 Lead Aeronautical Engineer, HH/MH-60G/MV-22, WR‑ALC/LUHE
3. April 1989 – August 1989 Advanced Tactical Fighter Engine Damage Tolerance and Materials Development, Pratt and Whitney, West Palm Beach, Fla.
2. June 1988 – April 1989 Aeronautical Engineer, WR-ALC Lab, WR‑ALC/MMEMD
1. June 1985 – June 1988, Co-op, WR-ALC DTA Lab, WR-ALC/MMEMD
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
APDP Level III Life Cycle Logistics
APDP Level III SPRDE – Systems Engineering
APDP Level I Program Management
Membership in International Society of Air Safety Investigators
Membership in American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
HONORS, AWARDS, AND RECOGNITIONS
100% Due Date Performance of 562 AMXS for FY-12 delivering 58 C-17s
Aviation Week Magazine - Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Organization of the Year, May 2010
The Boeing Company - Silver Eagle Award for Excellence in Partnership, Jun 2009
Meritorious Civilian Service Award, Jan 2009, July 2016
Long Term Full Time (LTFT) Program through LCCEP at Randolph, Feb 2003
Notable Achievement Awards 1996, 2000
Quality Step Increase CY 2007
Letters of Commendation, 1990, 1992, 1996, and 2001
AFSC Chief Engineer of the Year 2015
(Current as of Oct 2018)