MAG Aerospace: The former special operations aviator company you didn’t see coming

From one man with a vision to a team of 1,700 with a global footprint

From IC Insider MAG Aerospace

Unless you have worked with MAG Aerospace (MAG), you might not be familiar with the global provider of manned and unmanned ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) operations, systems engineering, technical services, training, specialty aviation transport, aircraft integration, certification, and contractor logistic support services. However, MAG has recently unveiled its new multi-role aircraft, the MC-208 Guardian™, which can perform ISR, Precision Strike, Mobility, and Casualty Evacuation all on one mission with no reconfiguration required.

While the privately held company has flown largely under the radar, a close look at the company’s culture and evolution reveals why MAG is a company to watch.

Just 10 years old, the vision for the company dates back to founder and CEO Joe Fluet’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2004-2005. As a U.S. Army aviator tasked with to standing up the first Afghan special operations aviation unit, he saw firsthand the critical role that aerial ISR plays in the success of the mission: real-time situational awareness saves lives, time, and resources. Five years later, Fluet, along with Joe Paull, founded MAG. Their goal was to be the world’s premier aerial ISR company that everyone wants to work with, for, and through. They’ve spent the past decade making good on this goal.

Serve. Win. Perform.

“Our philosophy from the start has been that if we need to add a capability or expand our capacity, we would find whoever is best-in-class and at the very forward edge of what they do and seek to partner with them,” said Fluet. “This has led to eight acquisitions and a growth trajectory that we could not have achieved otherwise.”

“What has made our acquisitions so successful, though, is that the companies we have chosen as partners are not only at the top of their field, they also share our commitment to the mission and to delivering the absolute best possible solution to the customer. Each day, our 1,700 team members are living MAG’s values of Serve-Win-Perform.”

MAG’s most recent acquisition, AASKI Technology, brought capabilities in highly complex mission-critical networks and systems that complement MAG’s ISR services and enhance the company’s electronic warfare, cyber, and PED (processing, exploitation, and dissemination) capabilities.

“When considering all our options, the one that stood out the most was MAG Aerospace. MAG’s track record of growth and service to the DoD and warfighter made it an easy choice.” said Rina Parikh, AASKI President and Founder and current MAG Board member, “MAG’s culture and the opportunities for employee success made the integration of our companies easy.”

Keenly Attuned to the Customer

As MAG has evolved and grown, so has the nature of the company’s work. Today, MAG has more than 130 active contracts and task orders for over 55 distinct customers. The overall competitive positioning on these contracts benefits from MAG’s leadership role as prime, sole sourced operational work, specialized infrastructure and equipment, and long-standing relationships with its customers.

MAG has matured from “preferred subcontractor” to being the Prime contractor on more than two-thirds of its contracts. The diversity of MAG’s customer set – ranging from USG Defense, Intelligence, and Civilian agencies to a wide array of friendly foreign government customers and multiple intergovernmental customers – attests to the myriad of capabilities MAG offers. Expanded capabilities in highly technical and complicated environments such as Artificial Intelligence, Satellite Communications, and cybersecurity have broadened MAG’s customer base to include commercial customers. The company holds key certifications, including Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®) Version 2.0 Maturity Level 3 [ML-3] appraisal for Development [DEV] and Services [SVC]. This appraisal assures MAG customers around the globe that the organization is effectively delivering improved quality, greater productivity, and predictable program performance.

True to its foundational base, more than 80 percent of MAG employees are veterans, with 97% holding clearances.  MAG understands the importance of having personnel within arms-reach of the missions they support and have approximately 80 percent of the workforce co-located with customers – in some of the most austere environments in the world.

The company’s size, structure, and operational agility keep it keenly attuned to the customer. MAG’s program management philosophy and process is simple: assemble the best team, provide the best tools, and build the best structure for successful program execution.

“We’ve been very deliberate in how we’ve structured our company for success. We keep the layers of management lean and empower our project managers on the ground who are delivering services and directly supporting the customer,” said MAG Chief Operating Officer Joe Paull. “This keeps us agile, adaptable, and ahead of the curve.  We ensure clear lines of responsibility and communication, both internally and externally.”

While COVID-19 has presented recent challenges, in a normal year, Paull visits every one of MAG’s forward deployed location around the world and spends weeks on the road talking with team members and customers.  “Many times, the feedback I have gotten from our folks on the ground has led directly to common sense changes in MAG processes or procedure, particularly with Travel and Rotation”, Paull said.  He believes it is essential to maintain this connection to employees in the field to truly understand what is happening on the ground and continual improve their employment experience.  Getting out to the field also provides an opportunity for MAG leadership to meet customers and get their feedback on contract performance.  Paull stated, “This kind of end-user customer contact is invaluable for assessing contract performance, but also for contract growth and understanding what’s keeping them up at night and how we can address their needs in the future”. His visits underscore the importance of presence on the ground and MAG’s commitment, at all levels of leadership, to supporting the professionals and customers they serve.

The MC-208 Guardian™: All the Pieces Come Together

In 2021, MAG introduced the MC-208 Guardian™, an enhanced variant of its MC-208 multi-role platform that is currently fielded in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The platform brings together every aspect of the company’s expertise – from development to deployment – to present a proven, reliable, and truly versatile aircraft that can adapt with the mission. Based on the rugged, globally sustainable Cessna Caravan, the MC-208 Guardian™ is configured to perform ISR, precision strike, air mobility, and casualty and medical evacuations, eliminating the need for multiple specialized platforms and conserving precious resources.

Given MAG’s expertise and experience, the company is well positioned to continue supporting the Department of Defense across a variety of mission sets. As the Military Services adjust to meeting the demands of the Nation Defense Strategy, low-cost and multi-role platforms are pivotal for future force posture. Coupled with flat, or possibly decreasing, defense budgets, the Services must have options to continue their essential missions in the most cost-effective and least resource intensive way possible. They are continually trying to balance doing more with less and the MC-208 is a strong contender to be part of that solution.

Learn more about MAG’s full offering of services. Visit www.magaero.com/ to learn more.

About MAG Aerospace

Fairfax, VA-based MAG Aerospace is a leader in providing and enabling real-time situational awareness to help its customers make the world smaller and safer. MAG delivers full spectrum C5ISR Services (integration, operations, training, and technical services) and other specialty aviation to federal, international, civilian, and commercial customers around the world. MAGaero.com // @MAGaerospace

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