# F-35 Squadrons — Program Element 0207142F

**Program element:** 0207142F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 7 — Operational System Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207142F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force funding ramps 47% to a $47.4M request in FY2027, sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. Lockheed Martin leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 45.4 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 32.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 47.4 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 49.3 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 50.3 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 51.2 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 52.3 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 47.4 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 47.4 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 47.4 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 47.4 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 675346 | F-35 | 23.8 | 17.6 | 25.1 | +43% |
| 676011 | JSF DUAL CAPABLE AIRCRAFT | 21.7 | 14.6 | 22.3 | +53% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 675346 — F-35

The AFSEO delivers warfighting capability through aircraft/store compatibility testing and evaluation and provides accurate combat weapon delivery and mission planning software. Beginning in FY2020, the USAF supported FTI wiring and weapons integration tasks related to SEEK EAGLE requests. These tasks include, but are not limited to, envelope expansion, mixed loads testing, adding additional stores, and F-35A specific risk reduction efforts and studies. The Quick Reaction Instrumentation Package (QRIP) / Crowd Sourced Flight Data (CSFD) system is a government-owned, off-the-shelf solution from the 59 TES for F-35 high-capacity data recording needs. Designed for operational test and evaluation, the system serves multiple emerging needs for data collection. By capturing CSFD from operational aircraft, QRIP reduces the need for deliberate regression flight testing and allows the test enterprise to focus on Block 4 and future capability development. Working with F-35 Joint Program Office Combat Data Systems, the 59 TES will increase data ingest capable systems that will be utilized to support the data processing, storage, and transmission of all F-35 generated CSFD sources. The 59 TES will continue studying means to increase the operational viability of CSFD, including the use of data science teams, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office and Low Observable Sustainability Over Time | 6.1 | 5.4 | 8.0 |
| Quick Reaction Instrumentation Package (QRIP) / Crowd Sourced Flight Data (CSFD) | 17.7 | 12.2 | 17.1 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

### Project 676011 — JSF DUAL CAPABLE AIRCRAFT

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Operational Requirements Document (ORD) calls for the F-35A variant to have the capabilities and provisions for Dual Capable Aircraft (DCA) operations in the first post System Development and Demonstration (SDD) block upgrade. DCA refers to the capability to carry and deliver conventional and non-conventional weapons. DCA operation for the F-35A is internal carriage of up to two (2) B61-12 weapons.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Lockheed Martin (9.4, 42%), Testing (1.3, 5.8%), Pratt Whitney - East (0.5, 2.2%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dual Capable Aircraft (DCA) (F-35 JSF) | 21.7 | 14.6 | 22.3 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 24% | 11.2 |
| Other / unspecified | 76% | 36.2 |

**Top named industry performers:** Lockheed Martin ($9.4M, 20%), Testing ($1.3M, 2.7%).

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program will develop and field an affordable, highly common family of next generation strike aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and International Partners countries. There are three variants: the F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant; the F-35B Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant; and the F-35C Carrier Variant (CV). Maximum commonality among the variants, consistent with National Disclosure Policy, will minimize total air system life cycle costs.

The DCA effort will leverage contracting vehicles for the overall Block 4 F-35 C2D2 effort. The C2D2 acquisition strategy is to employ both Cost and Fixed Price Incentive contracts for the Block 4 engineering and development efforts. A new modernization contract structure will be established for all post SDD Block 4 efforts. In addition, a separate Basic Ordering Agreement or Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite Delivery contract is planned to provide a long term approach to upgrading and maintaining laboratories and test aircraft and supporting technology maturation for future C2D2 capabilities.

## Related program elements

- [0604840F — F-35 C2D2](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F) (Air Force)
- [0604840M — F-35B C2D2](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840M) (Navy)
- [0604840N — F-35C C2D2](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840N) (Navy)
- [0603790F — Nato Coop R&D](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603790F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0207142F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0207142F")`.

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