# Isolated Personnel Survivability and Recovery — Program Element 0207279F

**Program element:** 0207279F  
**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/0207279F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force funding falls 70% to a $16.0M request in FY2027 (down from a FY2026 peak), 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. General Dynamics leads the industry work, though an unusually large share flows to government labs and warfare centers.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 9.8 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 53.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 16.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 39.7 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 29.7 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 23.5 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 24.3 |

> 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 | 16.0 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 16.0 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 16.0 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 16.0 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 654522 | CSAR EMD | 9.8 | 51.7 | 16.0 | −69% |
| 65412B | Isolated Personnel | 0.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | −100% |

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

### Project 654522 — CSAR EMD

The Next Generation Survivor Radio (NGSR) program is an Air Force led effort to replace the aging Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) Radio supporting the entire Joint force. The Department of Defense (DoD) plans for the NGSR Handheld Radio (HHR) system and support equipment to serve as the primary communications link for all DoD aircrew who become isolated personnel (IP). NGSR will replace legacy satellite communication and encryption methods to deliver communication capability in support of the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission to locate, authenticate, and communicate with Joint forces who become IPs. NGSR provides secure, over-the-horizon, two-way data communications and precise geo-positioning information to rescue forces. Additionally, NGSR is able to operate in anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) environments by providing a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) approved low probability of intercept/low probability of detection communication pathway for IPs. NGSR is one node of an overall personnel recovery network which includes multiple on-orbit satellite constellations, geographically dispersed satellite ground stations, joint service CSAR communication devices, and a Joint Personnel Recovery Center (JPRC) cloud-based web application. NGSR plans to incorporate modern encryption technology to comply with current National Security Agency (NSA) cryptographic standards. The Air Force will meet system objectives by executing a competitive Rapid Prototyping effort to design and build a production-ready NGSR artifact. Once prototyped, the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps will field the NGSR prototype to their respective services via a follow-on sole-source Rapid Fielding production contract. FY 2027 efforts include completing testing and integration for the Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) and Hand Held radio hardware, as well as, completing integration of cloud-based data processing, web application and national encryption assets. The program will also complete the National Security Agency (NSA) certification of the hand held radio. Finally the program will complete development of all support equipment.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** General Dynamics (3.1, 19%), GDMS (1.3, 8.3%), AFLCMC/HBZ (1.0, 6.0%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next Generation Survival Radio (NGSR) | 9.8 | 51.7 | 16.0 |

> 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 65412B — Isolated Personnel

The Isolated Personnel Survival and Flight Equipment program develops, tests, and fields equipment designed to increase the survivability of the Isolated Person (IP), to support their evasion, resistance, and escape, and to signal their location to friendly rescue forces. To this end, IPSAFE includes the following component efforts: seat survival kits, single-seat life rafts, signaling communication, and other similar activities. These component efforts address on-going mission needs and provide for biome-specific equipment as requirements and the operational environment dictate. No FY 2027 funding requested.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolated Personnel Survival and Flight Equipment (IPSAFE) | 0.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 |

> 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 | 34% | 5.4 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 66% | 10.6 |

**Top named industry performers:** General Dynamics ($3.1M, 19%), GDMS ($1.3M, 8.3%), AFLCMC/HBZ ($1.0M, 6.0%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The Next Generation Survivor Radio (NGSR) program is an Air Force led effort to replace the aging Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) Radio supporting the entire Joint force. The Department of Defense (DoD) plans for the NGSR Handheld Radio (HHR) system and support equipment to serve as the primary communications link for all DoD aircrew who become isolated personnel (IP). NGSR will replace legacy satellite communication and encryption methods to deliver communication capability in support of the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission to locate, authenticate, and communicate with Joint forces who become IPs.

The Air Force is the lead service for the development of the Next Generation Survivor Radio (NGSR) program supporting the entire Department of Defense (DoD) joint force. The Milestone Decision Authority (MDA), Air Force Program Executive Officer (PEO) Electronic Systems, designated the Next Generation Survival Radio (NGSR) handheld device program as a Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) Rapid Prototyping effort on 21 June 23. The program used Other Transactional Agreements (OTA) to award two project contracts and conduct competitive prototype capability demonstrations. A single prototype vendor was selected in Oct 2024 (General Dynamics) and the contractor was awarded a final prototyping contract in Oct 2024.

## Related program elements

- [1203176F — CSAR EMD](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203176F) (Air Force)
- [0604264N — Air Crew Systems Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604264N) (Navy)
- [0605042A — Tactical Network Radio Systems (Low-Tier)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605042A) (Army)
- [0207227F — Guardian Angel RDT&E](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207227F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0207279F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0207279F")`.

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