Sue Carol Payton (born September 29, 1950) was United States Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) from 2006 to 2009.

[3] In 1989, Payton joined Martin Marietta in Reston, Virginia as Senior Site Systems Integration Manager.

[3] She worked there until 1994, when she moved to Lockheed Martin (also in Reston), as Manager of Advanced Technology in the Office of the Vice President (Business Development).

[3] She joined ImageLinks, Inc. (later acquired by the Harris Corporation) as Vice President (Applied Technology) in 2000.

[3] On April 25, 2006, President of the United States George W. Bush nominated Payton to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition).