please understand that NAVAIR does not prohibit any operational folks from flying any which way the want to -- NAVAIR is not in your operational command-chain. All we can do is refuse to grant technical approval of such a configuration. If the PIC or (more likely) the operational commander then refuses to let you-all fly with that gear, it is ultimately their call -- not NAVAIRs. Of course, the Commodore or Skipper or whomever will make his/her decision with NAVAIR's input in-mind.
It's funny that you mention this because that's not always the perspective in the fleet. On my first cruise this very topic was an issue for my squadron and it may still be an issue for my old community.
We were flying with "unapproved" equipment of specific tactical utility that was literally "taking the fight to the enemy," during the early stages of OEF. The squadron perspective was that we had to keep this "hush-hush" so that NAVAIR wouldn't find out and our CO (or someone else) wouldn't get their pee-pee slapped. Granted, one of our DH's was a TPS guy and possibly had a large part in forming our apparently incorrect perspective.
It would be great if correct gouge on this topic could be shared with the fleet. I am sure it is buried in some pub somewhere, but that really doesn't help when you are on the other side of the world.
In fact, a similar parallel is found WRT to medical up and down chits. As has been discussed recently in a couple other threads, they are just recommendations from the FS to your CO. The CO can choose to ignore them if he/she desires. Fortunately, every NA/NFO knows 3710 backwards and forwards because we live it everyday in the fleet, so this little bit of knowledges about up/down chits is easily shared and is useful. If there is a NAVAIR or systems pub that has the same bit of "this is just a recommendation" info in it, NA/NFOs would never know because it is EXTREMELY rare to ever touch or even see a NAVAIR pub.
Heck, maybe this topic is something that should be incorporated into 3710. By this I mean something more specific than the general, "Do what it takes to get the mission done..." type sentences that can be found in 3710. It's hard to do the "rank coin flip," WRT to a general statement in an OPNAV pub versus a specific statement in a NAVAIR pub.