# Lasers and Optics, Electromagnetics, Communication and Signal Processing

**R-2A activity** of project 613001 — Physics and Electronics  
**Program element:** 0601102F — Defense Research Sciences  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force · **Budget Activity:** 1  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601102F/613001/a2  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601102F/613001

## Summary

This activity requests $32.3M in FY2027, 36% of project 613001, up 3.0% on FY2026. The R-2A exhibit describes it across FY2026–FY2027, including what the FY2027 money is planned to buy.

## What the FY2027 request buys

**FY2027 planned work.** - Continue exploring all aspects of producing and receiving electromagnetic and electro-optical signals, as well as their propagation through complex media, including adaptive optics and optical imaging. - Continue to investigate aspects of the phenomenology of lasers including non-linear optics and ultra-short pulse laser science. - Continue sophisticated mathematics and algorithm development for extracting information from complex and/or sparse signals.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY 2027 increased compared to FY 2026 by $0.933 million due to minor programmatic adjustments to the DAF Science and Technology portfolio.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Explore all aspects of producing and receiving electromagnetic and electro-optical signals, as well as their propagation through complex media, including adaptive optics and optical imaging. - Investigate aspects of the phenomenology of lasers including non-linear optics and ultra-short pulse laser science. - Conduct sophisticated mathematics and algorithm development for extracting information from complex and/or sparse signals.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 33.3 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 31.3 |
| FY2027 | Request | 32.3 |

> Prior, current and budget year only — an R-2A activity carries no five-year plan. It sums exactly into its project in the request year and not necessarily in any other.

## Other activities in project 613001

- [Complex Electronics and Fundamental Quantum Processes](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601102F/613001/a0) — FY2027 43.0
- [Plasma Physics and High Energy Density Non-Equilibrium Processes](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601102F/613001/a1) — FY2027 13.7

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0601102F project 613001 (PB PB2027). Narrative is the government's own text.
- **No marks, no contractors at this grain** — congressional marks land on the program element and R-3 performers on the project.
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_activity`.

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