NAVAIR

Capt. Andrew Hartigan assumed his current position as program manager for the Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273) in September 2008.

Hartigan, a native of Fairfax, Va., graduated from the University of Virginia in 1984. He was commissioned via the Navy’s Aviation Officer Candidate School in October 1985 and began his fleet aviation career as an A-7 Corsair pilot in VA-27 in Lemoore, Calif. After two North Arabian Sea cruises onboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), he helped transition that squadron to FA-18A aircraft in 1990.

Hartigan served in 1991 and 1992 as an instructor at the Strike Fighter Weapons School Pacific in Lemoore, where he became the subject matter expert in Electronic Warfare and Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses.

He attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and graduated in 1995 with a Master of Science degree in Applied Physics after completing his thesis on multi-spectral imagery.

Hartigan reported back to Lemoore in 1995 to serve as a Department Head in VFA-97, deploying onboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) to the North Arabian Gulf and flying missions in support of Operation Southern Watch. In the fall of 1998 he reported to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nev., where he served as an air wing training and strike lead instructor.

Hartigan transitioned to the Navy’s Aviation Engineering Duty Officer Community in June 2000 and reported to VX-31 in China Lake, Calif., as a developmental test pilot. During this tour, he conducted Super Hornet H-1 and H-2 software testing and performed the initial developmental flight testing on the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW-C).

He reported to Patuxent River, Md., in December 2002 as the lead Systems Engineer for the JSOW program. In 2003, he became the PMA-201 Deputy Program Manager for JSOW where he managed the development of the JSOW Block II and initiated development of the JSOW-C1.

In 2005, he reported to PMA-265 as the FA-18 Deputy Program Manager for International Programs, overseeing the management of seven international F/A-18 programs and helping to seal the first international sale of Super Hornets to the Commonwealth of Australia.

Hartigan served from June 2007 to April 2008 as the Executive Assistant to the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, and then attended the Defense Acquisition University and the Navy’s Corporate Business Course before assuming command of PMA-273.

Hartigan has flown more than 2,700 hours and has 426 carrier landings; his awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (3 awards), Strike Flight Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (3 awards) and numerous unit awards.