What project 657014 buys
This project will deliver the Next Generation Nuclear Gravity Bomb, a critical capability to deter strategic attacks against the United States and its allies. This program directly supports a directive from the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) to develop a comprehensive strategy for the defeat of hard and deeply buried targets. This is directly aligned with both the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) released by President Donald J. Trump, as well as the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) released by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Both documents capture the need to modernize and adapt our nuclear forces to our overall national defense strategies. The primary goal is to successfully transition the current prototyping effort, conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), into a formal acquisition program and establish a dedicated System Program Office (SPO). The SPO will be responsible for refining requirements, defining Key Performance Parameters (KPPs), overseeing technical integration, and managing the system lifecycle to deliver a credible and effective deterrent. This project is a new start initiative beginning in FY 2027. No funding was allocated in FY 2025 or FY 2026. During this pre-acquisition period, AFRL-led prototyping efforts were underway to mature key technologies and reduce risk for the formal program. The FY 2027 budget request of 10.066 million is required to formally establish the program and initiate critical acquisition activities. This funding is foundational to transitioning from research into a structured development program. Key activities in FY 2027 include: • Establish SPO: To fund operational costs necessary to establish the System Program Office, enabling management of the acquisition process to include oversight of cost, schedule, and performance objectives, and facilitate the execution and tracking of program milestones. • Acquisition Initiation: To begin formal acquisition of the Tailkit Assembly (TKA) by funding studies, requirements definition, development of the Request for Proposal (RFP), and source selection planning. • Test and Evaluation Planning: To develop the initial Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP) and coordinate with test agencies for future activities. • Weapon Planning Kick-Off: To formally begin program execution and integrated planning across all functional areas.
- Support
- Test and Evaluation
- Management Services
Project 657014 funding, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 10.1 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 0.0 |
2 accomplishments / planned programs
The R-2A exhibit — the only level of the budget that describes work that has not happened yet. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only, no five-year plan. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.
FY2027 planned work Initiate acquisition activities based on down-select decision of prototyping efforts.
FY2026 to FY2027 change FY2027 new start.
FY2027 planned work Fund T&E planning for selected system design, e.g. develop T&E Master Plan, coordination with test agencies to schedule future activities, etc.
FY2026 to FY2027 change FY2027 new start.