Melvyn Robert Paisley (October 9, 1924 – December 19, 2001) was appointed United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems) by President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987.

During World War II, Paisley enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and became a distinguished pilot.

Lehman and Paisley gained a reputation as being somewhat heavy-handed as managers, but effective at slicing red tape.

Upon leaving government in 1987, Paisley worked as a consultant, guiding companies like Martin Marietta and United Technologies Corporation through the procurement process.

In 1991, federal prosecutors indicted Paisley for receiving bribes during his time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems).

In the course of pleading guilty, Paisley admitted that he had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from an Israeli manufacturer of pilotless reconnaissance planes (Mazlat, which was a joint venture of two Israeli firms, Israel Aircraft Industries and Tadiran Ltd) and for providing confidential information to allow the Sperry Corporation to enable them to win a bid for the Aegis Combat System.