# Capability Enhancements — Program Element 0304784F

**Program element:** 0304784F  
**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/0304784F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force requests $16.6M in FY2027 against nothing enacted in FY2026 — the program's peak, with nothing planned by FY2031. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. AFLCMC leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 16.6 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 0.0 |

> 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 | 16.6 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 16.6 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 16.6 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 16.6 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 675922 | Capability Enhancements | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16.6 | new start |

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

### Project 675922 — Capability Enhancements

Long Endurance - Airborne Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance The Long Endurance - Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (LE-AISR) program develops, matures, demonstrates, and assesses airborne platform capabilities that are able to operate for extended periods of time. The LE-AISR PE supports multiple types of long endurance programs intended to augment current airborne ISR capabilities and fill existing capability gaps. LE-AISR consists of three efforts: Uncrewed Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA), High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE), and Emerging Capabilities. ULTRA is the only active effort in LE-AISR. Activities also include studies and analysis to support both current program planning and future program planning. 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 In FY26, Uncrewed Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) transitioned to PE 0304784F - LE-AISR from PE 0305206F - Airborne Reconnaissance Systems (ARS). This program is not a new start as ULTRA has been executing from 0305206F, historically. In FY27, High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) will also transition to PE 0304784F LE-AISR from PE 0305206F - ARS to separate sensors and sensor platforms. This program is not a new start. The FY 2026 spend plan amount for PE0304784F include $0 thousand of discretionary and $23,000 thousand of mandatory (reconciliation) for a total of $23,000 thousand. Submitted an FY26 Internal Reprogramming (IR) for 20.170 million for ULTRA, an Internal Reprogramming (IR) will be processed aligning the funding to PE0304784F for proper execution. Airborne Reconnaissance Systems, received a Congressional add for FY2026 15.000 million for long endurance ISR. Upon Congressional spend plan approval, an Internal Reprogramming (IR) will be processed aligning the funding to PE0304784F for proper execution. This program is in Budget Activity 7, Operational System Development because this budget activity includes development efforts to upgrade systems that have been fielded or have received approval for full rate production and anticipate production funding in the current or subsequent fiscal year.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** AFLCMC (16.2, 98%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncrewed Long-endurance Tacitical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) Operational Assessment | — | 0.0 | 16.6 |

> 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 | 98% | 16.2 |
| Other / unspecified | 2.5% | 0.4 |

**Top named industry performers:** AFLCMC ($16.2M, 98%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

Long Endurance - Airborne Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance The Long Endurance - Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (LE-AISR) program develops, matures, demonstrates, and assesses airborne platform capabilities that are able to operate for extended periods of time. The LE-AISR PE supports multiple types of long endurance programs intended to augment current airborne ISR capabilities and fill existing capability gaps. LE-AISR consists of three efforts: Uncrewed Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA), High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE), and Emerging Capabilities. ULTRA is the only active effort in LE-AISR.

Acquisition Strategy partnership between AFRL & AFLCMC/WING - AFRL focuses on NRE and materiel acquisition - AFLCMC/WING focuses on ULTRA OA -- OA Preparation -- Aircrew Training -- OA Execution AFLCMC/WING Contracting Strategy - Time and Materials; Cost-Plus Award Fee - Government Owned, Contractor Operated (GOCO) operational construct - Capability enhancements will be executed as engineering change proposals

## Related program elements

- [0604860F — Operational Energy and Installation Resilience](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604860F) (Air Force)
- [0604007F — E-7A](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604007F) (Air Force)
- [0604715A — Non-System Training Devices - Eng Dev](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604715A) (Army)
- [0305220N — MQ-4C Triton](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0305220N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0304784F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0304784F")`.

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