Ron Hidde joined RDA in October 2014 as a Project Engineer and Manager for the Aircraft Test and Integration efforts in support of acoustic programs in Patuxent River, MD. Ron provides program/project management, engineering/technology development, design and integration support, test planning, test support, and flight operations services in support of Acoustic Systems Division AC15000, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), and PMA-264 for the P-8A Poseidon Acoustic Mission Systems.

Ron has thirty-six years of combined experience in Naval aviation with proven success in maintenance management, systems integration, Research Development Test & Evaluation (RDT&E), Acquisition, and Mission Success, in Maintenance Chief, Crew Chief, Flight Engineer, System Integration Specialist, Systems/Project Engineer, Inflight Project Specialist, and Project Manager capacities, supporting PMA-264, ONR, NUWC, and DARPA in ASW Acoustic Data Collection and Analysis efforts.

Ron began his career by joining the U.S. Navy while still in high school in 1984. He began by performing troubleshooting, repairing, and inspecting aircraft liquid oxygen (LOX), air-conditioning/heating, radar liquid cooling, pressurization, engine fire extinguishing, engine, and ejection seat systems for the F/A-18A aircraft. He was deployed aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Constellation for six-month WESTPAC and two-month NORPAC deployments and multiple detachments. As he progressed through the military ranks, he became qualified as a P-3C Instructor Flight Engineer and C-20D/T-39 Crew Chief with over six thousand flight hours, performing complete in-flight systems monitoring, performance/range calculations, and normal/emergency procedures for complete mission operation of the aircraft. Finally, he worked as a Maintenance Control Chief releasing P-3C, H-60, S-3, and C-20D aircraft safe for flight before retiring from the U.S. Navy after a twenty-year career.

Ron has a B.S. degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and an M.S. degree from Johns Hopkins University. Ron is a native of Wisconsin and resides in St. Inigoes, Maryland, with his wife, Darleen. His three children are grown and on their own. He enjoys biking around Southern Maryland and boating on the Chesapeake Bay with family and friends.