J.R. McDonald

Vice President F-35 Business Development Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

J.R. McDonald is Vice President, Business Development, for the F-35 Program at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. In this capacity he is responsible for all International and Domestic efforts to secure new business and keep current business sold across the F-35 portfolio.

A Lockheed Martin employee for 18 years, J.R. was previously the Vice President, Strategy and Business Development for the Integrated Fighter Group (IFG). In this capacity he was responsible for business development activities for the F-16, F-22, F-21, T-50 and Japan FX programs. Prior to his IFG role, J.R. served as Vice President, Joint Strike Fighter, for Lockheed Martin Government Affairs in Washington D.C. In that role, he led a nationwide team in partnership with all F-35 customer stakeholders including those in the Pentagon and executive branch. Before that Mr. McDonald spent 1 year as the VP for Lockheed Martin Corporate Domestic Business Development, 4 years as the VP of the Corporate Air Force Customer team and 2 years as the VP and lead executive for the stand-up of the first F-35 operation at Eglin AFB Base. He also spent 7 years as the Director for the F-22 “Raptor” Program-Washington Operations.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, J.R. served fourteen years as a fighter pilot in the USAF. He was an Instructor and Mission Commander in the F-15C, spent two years as the Air Force’s F-15 Demonstration pilot, and he was 7th AF’s Chief of Air Superiority in Korea. He also spent time on the Air Combat Command staff in the F-22 requirements division where he was the chief of training and avionics. He has over 2000 hours in several fighter aircraft including 167 combat hours over Iraq. J.R. is a 1986 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with a BS in Sociology/Law. He is a trustee of the USAF Academy’s Falcon Foundation and a Life member of the Air Force Association. He was appointed by the President of the Florida Senate to serve 2 tours on the Governor’s 12 member Florida Defense Support Task Force from 2010-2017.