The Act merged the Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), which had responsibility for naval aircraft and related systems, and the Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd), which had responsibility for naval weapons.
This was also to end the conflict between bureaus due to technological convergence; BuOrd's work in guided missiles, for example, was overlapping with BuAer's work on unmanned aircraft.
Four individuals served in this position: The establishment of BuWeps represented only a temporary solution to the Navy's needs.
BuWeps was disestablished May 1, 1966 and replaced with the current Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the Naval Ordnance Systems Command (NAVORD).
NAVORD was merged with the Naval Ship Systems Command (NAVSHIPS) to form the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in 1974.