What is the Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP)?

The Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP) directs maintenance policies, procedures, and responsibilities at all levels of maintenance throughout naval aviation. The program is set out in COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2, and the revision posted by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is Revision E, dated 28 October 2024. The posted copy has 16 chapters and six appendices. A release message dated November 6, 2024 says Revision E incorporates 84 changes, 36 Aviation Maintenance Advisories (AMAs), and numerous corrections. For anyone who writes about, supports, or builds tools for naval aviation maintenance, two facts come first: which revision is in force, and which level of maintenance a task belongs to.

Who sponsors and manages the NAMP

Chapter 1 of the instruction splits ownership in two. The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) sponsors and directs the NAMP through OPNAVINST 4790.2. Commander, Naval Air Forces (CNAF) administers and manages it through COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2. The release message cites OPNAVINST 4790.2J, dated 1 February 2005, as the basis for COMNAVAIRFOR's responsibility for implementing, administering, and managing the program.

Inside CNAF, two offices hold the pen. Release of a full revision, such as 4790.2D to 4790.2E, is delegated to CNAF N00. Approval of change recommendations, change proposals, deviations, administrative corrections, and the release of changes and interim changes is delegated to CNAF N422, and the instruction says that authority cannot be delegated further.

The Revision E highlights add one carve-out. The NAVAIR Aircraft Controlling Custodian Program Office (ACCO) may approve deviation requests for its assigned operational aircraft and for depot special processes such as plating and heat treat. The stated objective of the program is to achieve the material readiness and safety standards set by the CNO and CNAF, in coordination with the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

The three levels of maintenance

The instruction classifies maintenance in three levels based on technical complexity, depth, scope, and range of work performed.

Level	Performed by	Focus in the instruction
Organizational (O-level)	The operating unit, on its assigned aircraft and equipment	Quick turnaround to optimize operational availability
Intermediate (I-level)	Designated Intermediate Maintenance Activities (IMAs)	Ready-for-issue (RFI) parts and ready-for-use (RFU) support equipment
Depot (D-level)	Designated depot activities	Overhaul, upgrading, or rebuilding of parts, assemblies, and end items

O-level work includes inspection, servicing, lubrication, adjustment, incorporation of O-level technical directives, and replacement of parts, minor assemblies, and subassemblies. I-level work includes inspection, testing, and repair of components and support equipment, I-level calibration, technical assistance to supported units, and manufacture of selected components. Revision E adds additive manufacturing to the I-level.

D-level work, which the instruction calls maintenance and rework, needs diagnostic equipment and industrial capability beyond the O and I levels. Rework typically happens in depot facilities managed by NAVAIR or at original equipment manufacturer sites. Some depot functions are done at operational sites to cut cost and turnaround time.

Source, Maintenance and Recoverability (SM&R) codes say whether a component is meant to be repaired at the O, I, or D level. Whatever the assigned level, activities must check the technical manuals to see how far a repair may go.

How the levels meet on a carrier

On an aviation ship the levels share a hull. The instruction says the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Departments (AIMD) of CVN, LHA, and LHD class ships provide I-level support for the aircraft of their strike group. They also coordinate O-level maintenance spaces with the air wing and look after those spaces while the air wing is ashore. Non-aviation ships such as cruisers and destroyers provide only O-level facilities.

A story from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), dated December 10, 2025 and posted January 22, 2026, shows the I-level focus in practice. The ship's jet engine shop, IM-2, is described as the ship's intermediate-level maintenance activity, doing inspections and repairs that the fixed-wing squadrons cannot. The shop's leading petty officer said its focus is to produce ready-for-use engines, modules, parts, and support equipment. The story reports three ready-for-issue engines in less than 30 days at sea, and engine test runs of three to eight hours.

The lines can move. With approval, O-level activities may take on specific I-level functions, and IMAs may take on specific D-level functions.

Revisions, advisories, and the switch to Revision E

EverySpec hosts COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2A Change 1, dated 15 March 2009, whose description says the CNO sponsors and directs the NAMP and COMNAVAIRFOR implements it. NAVAIR still hosts the 4790.2C contents page, dated 15 January 2017. The Revision E release message dates 4790.2D Change 1 to 15 February 2022.

The switch to Revision E had firm dates. NAVAIR kept both 4790.2D Change 1 and 4790.2E, with their Computerized Self Evaluation Checklist (CSEC) databases, until 28 February 2025. By that date, activities were to purge downloaded copies of the old revision. On 3 March 2025, activities had to be ready for Aviation Maintenance Inspections (AMIs) under Revision E.

Between revisions, AMAs arrive as naval messages. An active-AMA list dated November 22, 2024, bound into the posted copy, names two active AMAs and cancels all others. A March 2026 advisory, AMA 2026-02, still cites 4790.2E dated 28 October 2024 as the NAMP. Among the program areas with the most severe calendar year 2025 inspection findings, it lists technical data management, where outdated publications were readily available for use at both O-level and I-level.

What to check

• Which revision does the document cite? Revision E is dated 28 October 2024, and activities were told to purge 4790.2D Change 1 by 28 February 2025.
• Does the copy in use carry the active AMAs? The November 2024 active-AMA list urges activities to download the NAMP again when new AMAs are issued.
• Where did the copy come from? AMA 2026-02 cites Revision E as its reference, but its open-access link points to a 2021 file named for 4790.2D.
• For a given repair, which level do the SM&R codes assign, and does the technical manual allow the repair at that level?
• Is a claimed rule in the NAMP itself, in an approved change or deviation, in an AMA, or only in a local procedure?

Azcuna's ELLMENT, the E-2D Large Language Model Entity, was proposed to NAVAIR PMA-231 under Navy SBIR Phase I topic DON26BZ01-NV010. The prototype, built at private expense on publicly available doctrine, answers with a page-level citation and refuses when the documents do not support an answer. The proposal has been submitted.

Sources

1. 1The Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP), COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2E, 28 Oct 2024 (with AMAs 2024-04 to 2024-07) · Commander, Naval Air Forces, posted by Naval Air Systems Command
2. 2Announcement to the Release of COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2E NAMP · COMNAVAIRPAC San Diego, naval message, November 6, 2024
3. 3The Naval Aviation Maintenance Program, COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2E Highlights · Naval Air Systems Command
4. 4COMNAVAIRFOR Aviation Maintenance Advisory (AMA) 2026-02, CY25 Top Ten Problematic Programs, Practicals, and Discrepancies · COMNAVAIRFOR San Diego, naval message, March 18, 2026
5. 5COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2C, The Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP), Contents · Naval Air Systems Command (revision dated 15 January 2017)
6. 6COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2A (Change 1), Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP) (15 Mar 2009) · EverySpec
7. 7Keep 'em flying · USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), via DVIDS

Where this shows up in our work

• ELLMENT, the offline LLM for E-2D crews answers a crew's question from the aircraft's own manuals and cites the page, with no network.
• TRACE, the offline S1000D and IETM viewer opens S1000D, MIL-STD-3001 and PDF technical manuals on a tablet with every marking intact.