# Project 643721 — Experimental Operations Unit (EOU)

**Program element:** 0207179F — Autonomous Collaborative Platforms  
**Project:** 643721  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207179F/643721  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207179F

## Summary

Project 643721 — Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) requests $57.2M in FY2027, 100% of the $57.2M requested for program element 0207179F, up 0.6% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 42.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 56.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 57.2 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 58.2 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 59.4 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 60.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 58.5 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0207179F; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 643721 buys

The Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) effort explores Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy (DOTMLPF-P) concepts for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). Program activities serve as early risk reduction for employment of CCA with crewed aircraft to mature operational concept development and evaluate supporting force structure to execute CCA operations. Funding provides operational concepts and studies, flight test and test support, prototypes, infrastructure investment for information technology, training and demonstration, and program management support to mature autonomous operational concepts. Program management support costs include but are not limited to contractor support services, supplies, and facility related expenses. Funding may be utilized to implement innovation insertion, capability insertion, software increments, spiral upgrades, modular component swaps, and other insertions consistent with Modular Open System Architecture. Funding may be utilized to design, develop, integrate, and test weapon system and/or component level open architectures. Funding may be utilized to fund the concept refinement, design, development, integration, and testing of interdependent technologies and common architectures that underpin weapon system and portfolio-wide mission outcomes. This program element included all necessary 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 program element 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605833F, or 0605898F.

**R-3 lines of work:** Product Development; Management Services.

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental Operations Unit | 42.9 | 44.9 | 57.2 | +27% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207179F/643721/a0) |

> 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.

### Experimental Operations Unit

EOU will continue acquisition and operability of ACP prototypes, associated subsystems, and modeling and simulation (M&S) environments. EOU will continue to design and execute experiments using ACP prototypes and M&S environments to complete CCA force integration objectives. EOU will conduct studies and engage subject matter expertise in…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207179F/643721/a0

## 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/0207179F.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0207179F project 643721 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0207179F")`.

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