Project 3278
$440.3MFY2027 request NEWMQ-25 Air System (AS)
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$440.3M
Product DevelopmentSupportTest and EvaluationManagement Services
FY2027 Request
$513.3M
No FY2026 funding
FY2026 Enacted
$0.0M
No FY2025 funding
FY2025 Actual
$0.0M
Prior year
Roll-up of 2 projects. Projects are the summable leaves — the PE total is their sum, never added to it.
For fiscal year 2027, the U.S. Navy is requesting $513.3M for MQ-25 Stingray under RDT&E program element 0207255N, against nothing enacted in FY2026.
Funding trajectory
Funding profile, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 513.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 1,212.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 1,011.8 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 767.6 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 979.5 |
Where it sits
Acquisition lifecycle
This program is funded in RDT&E Budget Activity 7 — Operational System Development.
Complete
Research
BA 1–2
Complete
Advanced Technology
BA 3
Complete
Prototyping
BA 4
Current
Development & Fielding
BA 5–7
Inside the program element
2 projects roll up into PE 0207255N
Projects are the summable leaves — the PE total is their sum, never added to it. Program elements and projects carry the full five-year plan; activities stop at the budget year.
Project 3279
$73.0MFY2027 request NEWUnmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$73.0M
Product Development
Congressional action
Congressional marks
Committee marks on the FY2027 request. Adds and cuts are reconciled in conference before they become law.
RequestPresident's Budget
$513.3M
House NDAA (HASC)HASC
$513.3M full · +$0
Senate NDAA (SASC)SASC
$513.3M full · +$0
House Approps (HAC-D)HAC_D
$513.3M full · +$0
unresolved as of 2026-07-27. These are FY2027 authorization marks (NDAA); appropriations and the conference agreement may differ.
Who's building it
Where the FY2027 request goes
Performers named in the R-3 exhibit, resolved into industry, government-lab, and unspecified shares. Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations.
Boeing
$199.9M · 39%
NAWCAD
$176.8M · 34%
| Where FY2027 funding flows | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 87% | 447.9 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 0.1% | 0.6 |
| Other / unspecified | 13% | 64.8 |
| FY2027 request | 100% | 513.3 |
Program detail
Mission & acquisition strategy
The Unmanned Carrier Aviation (UCA) Mission Control System (UMCS) program develops, modifies, builds, integrates, and installs control systems, afloat and ashore, required to operate the MQ-25A, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and future unmanned systems. UMCS will have to modify existing systems or develop new capabilities to support the control of different unmanned systems. With limited space on the aircraft carriers, the control station software will be modified to enable control of multiple aircraft from a single cockpit.
Based on the Government's acquisition strategy approved in April 2017, the MQ-25 program is an evolution from the previous Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program and is an Acquisition Category (ACAT) IB program managed by Program Executive Office, Unmanned Aviation & Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W)), PMA-268 Unmanned Carrier Aviation (UCA) Program Office. Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2430(d)(1), the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) is ASN(RDA). MQ-25 requirements are aligned with the UCLASS Initial Capabilities Document (ICD) and the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems (FoS) Initial Capabilities Document, which highlight the need for carrier-based refueling and persistent ISR capabilities.
Project 3278, 3279 — MQ-25 Air System (AS)
- Product Development
- Support
- Test and Evaluation
- Management Services
Ask Hitch
Ask this program element
Answers are generated from the figures on this page — the FY2027 justification exhibits and the marks tracked above — and nothing else is consulted. Confirm any figure against the cited exhibit before you use it externally.
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Questions this page can answer
How does the FY2027 request compare with FY2026, and what does the five-year plan show?What did the FY2027 NDAA committees do to this request?Which project inside PE 0207255N is growing fastest, and which is shrinking?How is the FY2027 request split between industry and government performers?
This page carries the budget justification and the NDAA marks — nothing else. For what Boeing has actually been obligated, the ledger is at hitchintel.com/vendors; for live solicitations, hitchintel.com/opportunities. Both are member surfaces.
Provenance
Cite this page
Sources
FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification · Exhibits R-2 / R-3 · PE 0207255N (President's Budget PB2027) — and FY2027 NDAA committee marks, as tracked 2026-07-27.
Suggested citation
HitchAI, "MQ-25 Stingray (PE 0207255N)," federal budget intelligence, PB2027 vintage. hitchintel.com/programs/0207255N
Machine access
Markdown twin
/programs/0207255N.md · MCP mcp.hitchintel.com → budget_get_program_element, budget_get_cong_marksFY2027 Request
$440.3M
No FY2026 funding
FY2026 Enacted
$0.0M
No FY2025 funding
FY2025 Actual
$0.0M
Prior year
MQ-25 Air System (AS) — one RDT&E project inside PE 0207255N. Congressional marks are recorded on the program element, not on a project.
Project 3278 — MQ-25 Air System (AS) — requests $440.3M in FY2027, 86% of the $513.3M requested for program element 0207255N. It is a new start — no prior-year or current-year money.
Funding trajectory
Project 3278 funding, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 440.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 1,121.8 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 929.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 689.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 900.9 |
Inside the project
6 accomplishments / planned programs
The R-2A exhibit. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan — and they are descriptive: coverage is partial and they do not always add back to the project, so count them, never total them. Opening lines only here — the full year-by-year narrative is on the project page.
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$234.6M
Continue developmental test and evaluation of EDM3 towards completion of first carrier suitability events. Continue development, design, software integration, and delivery of EDM1, EDM2, EDM4 and SDTA1 to the test program. Continue development of MD-5 integration software. Continue development and redesign of obsolete critical flight…
Read the FY2027 plan →FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$55.1M
Continue Air System and UMCS GCS development, design, and integration activities in support of flight test and carrier suitability certifications. Continue Cyber Security efforts to maintain Authority to Operate (ATO) certifications for the System Test and Integration Lab (STIL), Lab Revitalization Program and test facilities. Continue…
Read the FY2027 plan →Stingray to the Fight Product DevelopmentNEW
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$64.9M
Begin hardware and software development and integration efforts to incorporate Stingray to the Fight capabilities.
ManagementNEW
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$3.6M
Continue oversight, coordination, and management of MQ-25 acquisition, system interface, and integration activities. Oversee contract activities, to include execution of the EMD contract, travel, and training. Conduct engineering and logistics management tasks. Maintain security and program office environments.
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$81.4M
Continue to support development, implementation, and sustainment of test facilities, range, and lab test requirements. Support test execution to the Test and Evaluation Master Plan, support engineering events, and program management activities. Support activities in Modeling and Simulation development to include validation and…
Read the FY2027 plan →SupportNEW
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$0.7M
Continue to evaluate and track maintainability and obsolescence issues including their impact on supportability. Continue engine container testing and any additional follow-on training and courseware development. Complete the development of the MQ-25 Structure Repair Manual that provides guidelines, design and procedures for identifying…
Who's building it
Named performers on project 3278
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.
Boeing
$199.9M · 45%
NAWCAD
$155.5M · 35%
NAWCWD
$13.6M · 3.1%
Lockheed Martin
$6.2M · 1.4%
Project detail
What project 3278 buys
The scope of the program includes, but is not limited to, system level requirements identification, allocation of requirements to segments and components, design, development, integration, fabrication, test, training, and support activities to provide the MQ-25 capabilities. To provide these capabilities, MQ-25 will transition technologies from other programs and adapt them into the carrier environment. MQ-25 will deliver the necessary air vehicles, command, control, connectivity, shipboard and land-based launch and recovery control systems, associated support systems, interfaces, and upgrades to other Navy systems (as required) to meet the required capabilities.
R-3 lines of work
- Product Development
- Support
- Test and Evaluation
- Management Services
FY2027 Request
$73.0M
No FY2026 funding
FY2026 Enacted
$0.0M
No FY2025 funding
FY2025 Actual
$0.0M
Prior year
Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System — one RDT&E project inside PE 0207255N. Congressional marks are recorded on the program element, not on a project.
Project 3279 — Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System — requests $73.0M in FY2027, 14% of the $513.3M requested for program element 0207255N. It is a new start — no prior-year or current-year money.
Funding trajectory
Project 3279 funding, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 73.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 90.1 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 81.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 77.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 78.7 |
Inside the project
1 accomplishment / planned program
The R-2A exhibit. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan — and they are descriptive: coverage is partial and they do not always add back to the project, so count them, never total them. Opening lines only here — the full year-by-year narrative is on the project page.
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$0.0M
FY2027 request$73.0M
Includes Government and Lockheed Martin software development to enable MQ-25A to the fleet. These funds support: -Software Development: Continued software development essential for supporting all flight tests leading to first deployment -Software Licensing: Procure and maintain EMD software licenses -System Administrator: Continued…
Read the FY2027 plan →Who's building it
Named performers on project 3279
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.
Lockheed Martin
$48.0M · 66%
NAWCAD
$21.3M · 29%
Project detail
What project 3279 buys
The Unmanned Carrier Aviation (UCA) Mission Control System (UMCS) program develops, modifies, builds, integrates, and installs control systems, afloat and ashore, required to operate the MQ-25A, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and future unmanned systems. UMCS will have to modify existing systems or develop new capabilities to support the control of different unmanned systems. With limited space on the aircraft carriers, the control station software will be modified to enable control of multiple aircraft from a single cockpit. The Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System program includes what was previously identified as the Control System & Connectivity (CS&C) and Carrier Vessel, Nuclear (CVN) Integration (CVNI) Segments previously captured under the MQ-25 Development PU 3278. The UMCS program, PU 3279, is the system-of-systems required for MQ-25 vehicle and payload control both shipboard and shore based. UMCS consists of all ground and ship-based hardware, software, and networks associated with the planning and execution of flight operations and tactical missions. In addition to the Ground Control Station (GCS), consisting of Air Vehicle Pilot (AVP) workstations and servers, the UMCS program builds hardware to support line of sight (LOS) communications, beyond line of sight (BLOS) satellite communications (SATCOM), and integration with ship/shore-based systems. There are three variants of the GCS: MD-5C (CVN-based), MD-5D (Shore-based) and MD-5E (Embarkable system) for use on CVNs that do not yet have permanent GCS systems installed. UMCS leverages existing Programs of Record for network integration and LOS/BLOS communications and builds MQ-25 unique systems (e.g. an ARC-210 based LOS communication system and a Video Management System (VidMS) for AVO situational awareness). The GCS, with a dedicated manufacturer for the core component, allows for streamlined software development, supports multiple classification levels, and positions MQ-25A interoperability with other DoW systems. Hardware development and fabrication is one facet of the program. UMCS develops and integrates software and modifies several aircraft carrier spaces to install and integrate the GCS and communication systems, in support of MQ-25A test events and operations aboard select NIMITZ Class CVNs.
R-3 lines of work
- Product Development