NAVSUP WSS Teams Earn Prestigious Secretary of War Awards for Dramatically Increasing H-60 Seahawk, F/A-18 Super Hornet Readiness

Courtesy Photo | NAVSUP WSS H-60 and F/A-18 teams win the 2025 Secretary of War Performance Based Logistics Award for dramatically increasing aircraft readiness. (Left) An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter conducts a vertical replenishment aboard the USS Tripoli, Mar. 20, 2026. (Right) An Aviation Electronics Technician performs maintenance on an F/A-18 Head-Up Display aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, July 5, 2025.  

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES

04.03.2026

Story by Matthew Jones 

NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support

PHILADELPHIA –Two NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support teams have won the 2025 Secretary of War Performance Based Logistics Award for delivering exceptional support that has significantly increased the mission readiness and lethality of the U.S. Navy’s H-60 Seahawk and F/A-18 Super Hornet fleets. The awards are the Pentagon's top honor for sustainment excellence.

The H-60 Seahawk PBL Team won the System-Level Award, and the F/A-18 Head-Up Display PBL Team won the Subsystem-Level Award. Both Philadelphia-based teams were recognized for building creative and effective partnerships with industry that directly contribute to the dominance of U.S. naval forces.

“These awards validate what we know to be true: logistics is the lifeblood of combat power,” said Paul Klevan, NAVSUP WSS supply chain solutions director . “The extraordinary success of these teams means more aircraft on the flight line, more mission-capable helicopters in the air, and a more lethal force ready to answer our nation’s call. Their work ensures our warfighters have the decisive edge they need to deter our adversaries and win in a conflict.”

The H-60 Seahawk is the U.S. Navy’s premier multi-mission helicopter, serving as the carrier strike group’s shield against submarine and surface threats, while also executing critical search-and-rescue, medical-evacuation, and vertical-replenishment missions.

Through a landmark seven-year, $2.3 billion PBL partnership with Lockheed Martin and a network of government depots, the team manages a portfolio of 1,048 critical components for over 500 aircraft across the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and allied nations. Their accomplishments include:

• Increasing material availability from 68% to an unprecedented 92%, ensuring fleetwide mission readiness.
• Successfully integrating support for the MH-60R’s Airborne Low Frequency Sonar anti-submarine warfare system and eliminating all backorders for its components.
• Negotiating a contract that saved over $700 million from the original proposal and realizing an additional expected cost avoidance of $197.5 million.
• Fielding Fleet Support Representatives alongside Navy artisans, which has increased immediate repair capabilities, reduced cannibalization of parts, and cut costs by more than $32.5 million.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is the backbone of naval aviation. Its Head-Up Display is a critical system that allows pilots to view flight and combat information while keeping their eyes focused on the battlespace, an invaluable capability in a high-threat environment.

For over 22 years, the NAVSUP WSS team managing the F/A-18 Head-Up Display contract has set the standard for subsystem support. This long-standing partnership with Collins Aerospace is a model of efficiency, bundling support for a portfolio of critical systems into a single agreement that provides sustainment for essential avionics across a wide range of the Navy's most vital aircraft.

This year alone, the team's management of this program supported over 1,300 aircraft across more than 439,000 flight hours. Their accomplishments include:

• Increasing the Supply Response Time from 47% to over 99% for the F/A-18 HUD, smashing the contract goal and eliminating a backlog of over 580 parts.
• Driving the “No Fault Found” rate down to 8%, well below the 13% industry standard, saving valuable maintenance hours.
• Resolving over 975 obsolete part issues in 2024 alone, a critical effort to keep aging, high-demand fleets in the fight.
• Providing sustainment for theTactical Air Navigation systems used on platforms like the V-22 Osprey and KC-130 Hercules, and theControl Display Units essential for the P-3C Orion's maritime patrol missions, ensuring readiness across the naval aviation enterprise.

The PBL model represents a shift toward a more strategic approach to sustainment, incentivizing industry partners to improve performance and drive down costs by focusing on long-term readiness outcomes. The success of these NAVSUP WSS teams serves as a benchmark for defense logistics across the Department of War.

The award winners will be formally recognized at the 2026 Office of the Secretary of War Project Support Manager Workshop.

• Date Taken: 04.03.2026
• Date Posted: 04.03.2026 14:19
• Story ID: 561933
• Location: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, US