Rear Adm. Mat Winter, who had been serving as the program executive officer for unmanned aerial vehicles at Naval Air Systems Command, has taken over as the chief of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Navy said Monday.
Winter is succeeding Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, who is retiring after three years of heading ONR and 32 years in the Navy.
Winter, a naval aviator, had been the PEO for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, overseeing the development and fielding of a host of Navy drones.
He presided over the development of the X-47Bs, which in 2013 became the first unmanned air vehicles to land and takeoff on an aircraft carrier. Winter was replaced by Rear Adm. Mark Durrah at NAVAIR in December.
“As the next chief of naval research, I look forward to leading the ONR team in stretching the limits of physics and discovering the next generation of breakthrough technologies to ensure a dominant, capable and relevant naval force for the future,” Winter said at a Dec. 30 ceremony when he took the new command.
The ONR has an annual budget of about $2 billion to develop cutting edge technologies for the Navy and Marine Corps. As chief of ONR, Winter also serves as director, Innovation Technology Requirements, and Test and Evaluation (OPNAV-N84).
Winter has also previously served as commander of Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and as assistant commander for test and evaluation at NAVAIR.