The Bureau of Naval Weapons (BuWeps) was part of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's material organization between 1959 and 1966, with responsibility for procurement and support of naval aircraft and aerial weapons, as well as shipboard and

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

naval weapons.Title page of BuWeps records at the National Archives
/ref> The bureau was established August 18, 1959, by an Act of Congress. The Act merged the

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and rela ...

(BuAer), which had responsibility for naval aircraft and related systems, and the Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd), which had responsibility for naval weapons. As aviation technology became increasingly complex after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Navy increasingly realized the need for better integration between its aircraft and aerial weapons. This was also to end the conflict between bureaus due to technological convergence; BuOrd's work in

guided missiles A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this u ...

, for example, was overlapping with BuAer's work on

unmanned aircraft An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human Aircraft pilot, pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter H ...

. BuWeps was under the command of a two-star admiral known as the Chief, BuWeps. Four individuals served in this position: *RADM Paul D. Stroop - September 10, 1959 – October 29, 1962 *RADM Kleber S. Masterson - November 27, 1962 – March 24, 1964 *Radm. Wellington T. Hines (acting), March 25, 1964 - May 27, 1964 *RADM Allen M. Shinn - May 28, 1964 – 1 May 1966 The establishment of BuWeps represented only a temporary solution to the Navy's needs. In the mid-1960s, the Navy completely revised its material organization, replacing the bureau system with "Systems Commands" (

SYSCOM The systems commands, abbreviated as SysCom or SYSCOM, are the materiel agencies of the United States Department of the Navy, responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of military systems such as ships, aircraft, facilities, and wea ...

s). BuWeps was disestablished May 1, 1966 and replaced with the current

Naval Air Systems Command The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aeronaval aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the succe ...

( NAVAIR) and the Naval Ordnance Systems Command (NAVORD). RADM Shinn, Chief, BuWeps, became the first Commander, Naval Air Systems Command. NAVORD was merged with the Naval Ship Systems Command (NAVSHIPS) to form the

Naval Sea Systems Command The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's United States Navy systems commands, five "systems commands," or materiel (not to be confused with "material") organizations. From a physical perspective, NAVSEA ha ...

(NAVSEA) in 1974.

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{{USN-stub

Naval Weapons A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operation ...

Naval weapons of the United States United States naval aviation

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