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Robert B. Fookes, Jr. |
Robert B. Fookes Jr., a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Director of Engineering and Technical Management, and Chief Engineer, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He provides comprehensive leadership for maintaining technical superiority and integrity of all Air Force systems. He leads the command’s transformation to digital materiel management to maximize the value of technology disruption, and provide rapid capability maturation, delivery, and readiness. He leads a 15,000-person national engineering organization and is responsible for talent acquisition, development, and management of over 80% of the Air Force’s engineering and technical workforce.
Mr. Fookes has more than 34 years of experience in federal civil service. He began his Air Force career at Aeronautical System Center in 1988 as an Embedded Computer Resource Engineer. Mr. Fookes has had various assignments throughout his career, to include engine controls for the Propulsion Directorate, sub-system software on C-17 Program, integrated flight and propulsion control for the Joint Strike Fighter Concept Demonstration, Silent Knight Radar development for U.S. Special Operations Command, Air Vehicle Deputy Lead and F-35A Airworthiness Lead for the F-35 Joint Program Office, and Director of Engineering for Presidential and Executive Airlift and the F-35 JPO. His experience covers all phases of acquisition, from concept demonstration through sustainment, and crosses a wide variety of technical disciplines. In his previous position, Mr. Fookes was the first Director of Engineering and Technical Management for the F-35 JPO in Arlington, Virginia. The F-35 JPO is the Defense Department’s agency responsible for the development, production and sustainment of the F-35A/B/C Lightning II, the next-generation strike aircraft for the Air Force, Marines, Navy, eight partner nations, and multiple foreign military customers. Mr. Fookes was responsible for sound systems engineering processes, product integrity, engineering leadership, and all technical aspects of the DoD’s largest acquisition program. Prior to his F-35 assignment, Mr. Fookes was the Director of Engineering for the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He was the technical advisor to the directorate Program Executive Officer and responsible for all technical aspects of the PE directorate, which manages the modifications and sustainment of the current Air Force One (VC-25A), the E-4B fleet, and other presidential and executive aircraft affectionately referred to as the “blue and white” fleet. Mr. Fookes was also the Chief Engineer, and led the development and start of modification, for the next-generation Air Force One (VC-25B). |
