# Project 657014 — Next Gen Gravity Bomb

**Program element:** 0101125F — Nuclear Weapons Modernization  
**Project:** 657014  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0101125F/657014  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0101125F

## Summary

Project 657014 — Next Gen Gravity Bomb requests $10.1M in FY2027, 44% of the $23.1M requested for program element 0101125F — a new start, with no prior-year and no current-year money. 2 R-2A activities decompose the request, 2 new this cycle.

## Funding profile

| 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 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0101125F; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## 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.

**R-3 lines of work:** Support; Test and Evaluation; Management Services.

## Activities (R-2A) — 2

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tail-kit | — | 0.0 | 6.5 | new | — |
| Test and Evaluation | — | 0.0 | 3.6 | new | — |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### Tail-kit — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Initiate acquisition activities based on down-select decision of prototyping efforts.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY2027 new start.

### Test and Evaluation — 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.

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0101125F.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0101125F project 657014 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0101125F")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*