RDT&E Project · President's Budget PB2027

HLD - OTHR

Project 650011·PE 0102417F — Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar·U.S. Air Force·BA5
FY2027 Request
$77.9M
◆ Restart — nothing in FY2026
HitchAI read

Project 650011 — HLD - OTHR requests $77.9M in FY2027, 45% of the $174.0M requested for program element 0102417F — a restart: funded in FY2025, zeroed in FY2026, funded again now. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request, 1 restarted this cycle. AFLCMC/HBD is the largest named R-3 performer at $21.1M, 27% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

Restart

This project was funded in FY2025 ($367.5M), zeroed in FY2026, and requests $77.9M again in FY2027. A restart has an incumbent and a new start does not; with a zero current year there is no percentage to quote, which is why it appears in no growth ranking.

FY2027 Request
$77.9M
No FY2026 funding
FY2026 Enacted
$0.0M
▼ 100% vs FY2025
FY2025 Actual
$367.5M
Prior year
Project detail

What project 650011 buys

Homeland Defense (HLD) Over-the-Horizon radar (OTHR) efforts are focused on the development of a capability to provide long range early, warning for North America in response to threats. The program's intent is to design, develop, test and field advanced OTHR systems operating at levels of sensitivity far exceeding current US OTHR systems in operation. Program activities include command and control (C2) interface design and integration, transmit sub-system development and integration, HF sensor and digital receiver technology advancement, ionospheric characterization research, remote sensor management capability development, and sensor data fusion research. HLD OTHR data will be distributed and integrated into existing Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) early warning networks, to include the emerging architectures as applicable. In support of the Air and Cruise Missile Defense of the Homeland (ACMD-H) mission and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)/United States Northern Command USNORTHCOM (N/NC) Defense of North America mission, the project focuses investments to enhance capability for OTHRs. HLD OTHR will continue executing experimental efforts and procure necessary upgraded hardware with the Department of War science and technology community, including federally funded research and development center, defense laboratories, and small business expertise to characterize ionospheric conditions in CONUS locations. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in PE 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2025, 3.865 million was expended for civilian pay expenses in this program element. HLD OTHR development is not a new start. The program received initial funding in FY 2023 under the North Warning Systems Program (0102412F). The DAF realigned the funding in FY 2024 to Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar Program (0102417F) to report all DAF OTHR efforts. The HLD OTHR program utilized FY 2025 28.0 million for a Rapid Acquisition Authority requirement.

R-3 lines of work
  • Product Development
  • Support
  • Test and Evaluation
  • Management Services
Funding trajectory

Project 650011 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.

1002003000367.5FY25ACTUAL0.0FY26ENACTED77.9FY27REQUEST116.7FY28147.4FY2969.9FY30104.9FY31
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
Fiscal YearEstimate TypeAmount ($M)
FY2025Actual367.5
FY2026Enacted0.0
FY2027Request77.9
FY2028Outyear116.7
FY2029Outyear147.4
FY2030Outyear69.9
FY2031Outyear104.9
Inside the project

1 accomplishment / planned program

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. Each describes FY2027 work in enough detail to have its own page; the rest are shown here in full. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.

FY2025 actual$367.5M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$77.9M

- Utilize Winter Study results and ionospheric model to inform system design and algorithm development - Continue system design and supply chain market research - Develop training material and technical documentation for operators - Complete set of planned activities are held at a higher level

Read the FY2027 plan →
Who's building it

Named performers on project 650011

Performers named in the R-3 exhibit under this project. Share is of the project's whole FY2027 R-3 total — the same denominator the program-element split uses, so the two read on one scale and will not sum to 100% when unnamed or government work is in the mix. Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations.

AFLCMC/HBD
$21.1M · 27%
AFLCMC/ESG
$0.5M · 0.6%