# High Energy Laser Research Initiatives — Program Element 0601108D8Z

**Program element:** 0601108D8Z  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 1 — Basic Research  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601108D8Z

## Summary

Defense-Wide requests $17.7M in FY2027, 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.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 16.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 16.7 |
| FY2027 | Request | 17.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 18.1 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 18.5 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 18.9 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 18.9 |

> 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 | 17.7 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 17.7 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 17.7 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 17.7 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 108 | High Energy Laser Research Initiatives | 16.0 | 16.7 | 17.7 | +6% |

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

### Project 108 — High Energy Laser Research Initiatives

This program is executed via Scaled Directed Energy (SCADE) Science and Technology and in alignment with the Department of War Directed Energy Roadmap, as well as other strategic guidance. The goal of this program is to support the Department’s initiatives in directed energy to build a sustainable and long-term advantage. This program funds research in directed energy to enable game-changing high energy laser and high power microwave technologies. These efforts provide fundamental scientific knowledge to support future Department of War directed energy weapon systems. In practice, directed energy weapon systems have many potential advantages, including speed-of-light time-to-target, high precision, low incremental cost per kill, and a rechargeable magazine through on-board power and thermal management systems improving logistics requirements over stocks of munitions or warheads. As a result, directed energy weapon systems have the potential to perform a wide variety of military missions. This program is executed via a technical program within the JDETO referred to as the Directed Energy Foundational Research Program which enables research in directed energy technology by (1) university partners and (2) international collaboration between universities in the United States and partner countries.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directed Energy Foundational Research | 16.0 | 16.7 | 17.7 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Related program elements

- [0602605F — Directed Energy Technology](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602605F) (Air Force)
- [0602890D8Z — High Energy Laser Research](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602890D8Z) (Defense-Wide)
- [0603924D8Z — High Energy Laser Advanced Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603924D8Z) (Defense-Wide)
- [0603925N — Directed Energy and Electric Weapon System](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603925N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0601108D8Z (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0601108D8Z")`.

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