# Kessel Run Flight Operations — Program Element 0207461F

**Program element:** 0207461F  
**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/0207461F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force requests $16.0M in FY2027 against nothing enacted in FY2026, 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. 578th leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 16.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 17.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 16.1 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 19.2 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 19.2 |

> 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 (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 674597 | Kessel Run Flight Operations | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16.0 | new start |

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

### Project 674597 — Kessel Run Flight Operations

Kessel Run Flight Operations (KR Flight Ops) continues to develop and support software-based capabilities that optimize operational unit resource allocation, maximize the value of each mission or sortie, optimize fuel usage, and increase total force readiness. This program is required to enhance the Department of the Air Forces's ability to deliver mission-ready forces to meet global wartime and peacetime operations. Funding supports the development and fielding of the Aerospace Enterprise Readiness System (ARES), which is a cloud-based, modernized, and resilient application to support current and upcoming mission sets by providing operators with a single solution for tracking and monitoring schedules, training currency, stan/eval information, and resource allocation optimization. ARES provides real-time visibility into aircraft status, enabling informed decisions on sortie generation and readiness. Future capabilities may include data analytics and AI-driven scheduling and integration with Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and autonomous air vehicles. The ARES application will allow for the deprecation of three legacy systems (Patriot Excalibur (PEX), Puckboard, and Graduate Training Integration Management System (G/TIMS)). These capabilities support Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), Air National Guard Bureau (ANGB), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), and United States Space Force (USSF) requirements. Efforts within this program align with and depend upon United State Air Force investment in Mission Planning Systems (PE 0208006F), Air Operations Center (PE 0207410F), All Domain Common Platform (0303248F), Command and Control Incident Management Emergency Response Application (C2IMERA) (0305836F), and Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) (0604003F) to deliver the Theater Air Planning System of Systems (TAP-SoS) architecture for the DAF BATTLE NETWORK. This program's efforts directly provide the development, infrastructure, and support necessary for each of these programs and TAP-SoS interdependencies, which provides the capabilities necessary for deliberate planning, dynamic mission replanning, friendly order of battle management, and mission tasking and execution.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** 578th (2.3, 14%), 96th Test Wing (0.2, 0.9%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kessel Run Flight Operations | — | 0.0 | 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.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 15% | 2.4 |
| Other / unspecified | 85% | 13.6 |

**Top named industry performers:** 578th ($2.3M, 14%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

Kessel Run Flight Operations (KR Flight Ops) continues to develop and support software-based capabilities that optimize operational unit resource allocation, maximize the value of each mission or sortie, optimize fuel usage, and increase total force readiness. This program is required to enhance the Department of the Air Forces's ability to deliver mission-ready forces to meet global wartime and peacetime operations.

Aerospace Enterprise Readiness System (ARES) began with a prototyping effort utilizing an Other Transaction Authority agreement IAW 10 U.S.C. 167; 4022. From this prototype phase, one successful offeror was selected to continue the development of ARES through a production agreement. Program management for Kessel Run Flight Operations (KR Flight Ops) is under direction of the Program Acquisition Executive (PAE) Command, Control, & Communication Battle Management (C3BM). The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) located at Hanscom AFB, MA is the contracting authority for the KR Flight Ops program. AFLCMC provides contracting, legal, comptroller, programmatic, engineering, test, and logistics support.

## Related program elements

- [1203176F — CSAR EMD](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203176F) (Air Force)
- [0604231N — Command AND Control](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604231N) (Navy)
- [0207438F — Applications Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207438F) (Air Force)
- [0604727N — JNT Standoff Weapon Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604727N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0207461F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0207461F")`.

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