# Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Payloads — Program Element 0305242M

**Program element:** 0305242M  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 7 — Operational System Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0305242M

## Summary

U.S. Navy funding ramps 127% to a $20.8M request in FY2027 — the program's peak. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. NAWCAD leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 10.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 9.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 20.8 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 18.7 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 16.6 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 16.2 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 17.3 |

> 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 | 20.8 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 20.8 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 20.8 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 20.8 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8277 | UAS Payloads | 10.9 | 9.2 | 20.8 | +127% |

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

### Project 8277 — UAS Payloads

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Sensor Payload program provides the capability to develop, improve, integrate, field, and sustain Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and non-ISR payloads and enabling technologies for the USMC Family of UAS. These payloads will alleviate Marine Corps ISR capability gaps caused by changes in mission, threats, and technologies and will increase the versatility of UAS in support of Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) mission accomplishment. In support of the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) Planning Guidance and Force Modernization requirements, UAS Sensor Payloads provide modular, low-cost aerial sensing technologies to achieve the Maritime Domain Awareness required by Marine Littoral Regiments (MLRs) and marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) in support of the Joint Forces Maritime Component Command (JFMCC). Within the context of Maritime Domain Operations, Marine forces executing Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) require the organic capability to establish and maintain awareness of adversaries and potential adversary activities in communications and navigation degraded or denied environments. UAS Payloads enable the sensing of threat indicators across the electromagnetic spectrum, gravimetric, chemical, nuclear, and acoustic spectrums and within the visual and physical domain and radar spectrum, with reduced signature, and minimized risk to personnel. The incorporation of advanced technology enablers such as artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and precision geolocation provides automated recognition, identification, tracking, advanced networks, advanced communications, and cross-cueing in support of accelerated battlespace awareness and targeting. As an essential element of the kill web, UAS payloads are critical to the JFMCC targeting process to find, fix, track, target, engage, and assess the effects of lethal and non-lethal fires. Employment of UAS Sensor Payloads on platforms distributed across the MLRs and MEUs during EABO allows for greater distribution of forces while maintaining persistent awareness, enhances the security of tactical units and personnel moving across the battlespace, and enables the rapid transition between positions necessary for force survivability.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** NAWCAD (2.2, 11%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Development | 9.8 | 7.7 | 16.5 |
| Support | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.0 |
| Test and Evaluation | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Management Services | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 |

> 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 | 11% | 2.2 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 7.2% | 1.5 |
| Other / unspecified | 82% | 17.0 |

**Top named industry performers:** NAWCAD ($2.2M, 11%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Sensor Payload program provides the capability to develop, improve, integrate, field, and sustain Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and non-ISR payloads and enabling technologies for the USMC Family of UAS. These payloads will alleviate Marine Corps ISR capability gaps caused by changes in mission, threats, and technologies and will increase the versatility of UAS in support of Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) mission accomplishment.

UAS Sensor Payload leverages work conducted by small business as well as large commercial industry vendors, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC)- and academia, and various government laboratories such as the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL), Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Geospatial Agency (NGA). The UAS payloads portfolio consists of a family of capabilities and spans a broad spectrum of capability areas.

## Related program elements

- [0101126F — B-1B Squadrons](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0101126F) (Air Force)
- [0303248F — Air Force Command and Control (C2) Comm](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0303248F) (Air Force)
- [0304240M — Advanced Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0304240M) (Navy)
- [0605013N — Information Technology Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605013N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0305242M (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0305242M")`.

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