RDT&E Project · President's Budget PB2027

Force Element Terminal

FY2027 Request
$81.3M
▲ 22% vs FY2026
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Project 673040 — Force Element Terminal requests $81.3M in FY2027, 32% of the $254.8M requested for program element 0303131F, up 22% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request. RTX / Raytheon is the largest named R-3 performer at $65.4M, 80% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

FY2027 Request
$81.3M
▲ 22% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$66.7M
No FY2025 funding
FY2025 Actual
$0.0M
Prior year
Project detail

What project 673040 buys

The Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) Force Element Terminal (FET) program is not a New Start in FY 2026. FAB-T FET was transferred from Space Force (PE 1203001SF / Project 673040 / Appropriation 3620 / Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation) to Air Force (PE 0303131F / Project 673040 / Appropriation 3600 / Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation), Transfer Memo signed 12 Nov 2024. The FAB-T FET program replaces the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Milstar terminal and provides secure, protected, and survivable communications for the strategic warfighter through airborne-based Military Satellite Communication (MILSATCOM) terminals. The FAB-T FET will provide worldwide nuclear and non-nuclear, survivable, anti-jam Low Probability of Detect (LPD)/ Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) data. The FAB-T FET will be interoperable with Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), Enhanced Polar Systems - Recapitalization (EPS-R), and Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) satellite constellations and will be installed on the B-52 aircraft (threshold). FAB-T FET was designated as a Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) in February 2019 and in January 2026 was designated as a Major Capability Acquisition (MCA) with closure of the MTA program. 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 elements 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605833F, and 0605898F.

R-3 lines of work
  • Product Development
  • Test and Evaluation
  • Management Services
Funding trajectory

Project 673040 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.

25507500.0FY25ACTUAL66.7FY26ENACTED81.3FY27REQUEST41.6FY2843.2FY2944.9FY3046.7FY31
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
Fiscal YearEstimate TypeAmount ($M)
FY2025Actual0.0
FY2026Enacted66.7
FY2027Request81.3
FY2028Outyear41.6
FY2029Outyear43.2
FY2030Outyear44.9
FY2031Outyear46.7
Inside the project

1 accomplishment / planned program

The R-2A exhibit — the only level of the budget that describes work that has not happened yet. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only, no five-year plan. Each describes FY2027 work in enough detail to have its own page; the rest are shown here in full. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.

FAB-T FET▲ 22%
FY2025 actual$0.0M
FY2026 enacted$66.7M
FY2027 request$81.3M

Funding is for the continued development of FETs and ESS Development. FAB-T FET integration and testing activities will include reliability growth testing and fabrication of test assets; test terminals will support terminal security, environmental, and functional testing, to include flight testing, and early integration efforts. Planning…

Read the FY2027 plan →
Who's building it

Named performers on project 673040

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.

RTX / Raytheon
$65.4M · 80%