What project 1398 buys
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) was established by Congress in 1946 to plan, foster and encourage scientific research in recognition of its paramount importance to the maintenance of future naval power and national security; to provide within the Department of the Navy a single office, which, by contract and otherwise, shall be able to obtain, coordinate, and make available to all bureaus and activities of the Department of the Navy, world-wide scientific information and the necessary services for conducting specialized and imaginative research; to establish a Naval Research Advisory Committee consisting of persons preeminent in the fields of research, to consult with and advise the Chief of such Office in matters pertaining to research The Office of Naval Research shall perform such duties as the Secretary of the Navy prescribes relating to the execution of, and management responsibility for, programs for which funds are provided in the basic and applied research and advanced technology categories of the Department of the Navy research, development, test, and evaluation budget in such a manner that will foster the transition of science and technology to higher levels of research, development, test, and evaluation. This Program Element (PE) supports the Basic Research portion of the Department of the Navy (DON) science and technology (S&T) portfolio, laying the foundation for new innovative technologies and future capabilities for Naval warfighters. Efforts within this PE address Ocean Atmosphere and Space Sciences. Ocean Battlespace Sensing research activities span a number of disciplines in support of Navy and Marine Corp operational missions. This research area supports theoretical and experimental investigations directed toward increasing knowledge and understanding of the physical, chemical, engineering, environmental and life sciences fundamental to naval operations, including expeditionary operations. Naval Operations research areas will include mine warfare, mine countermeasures, ocean acoustics, naval special warfare (governed by Littoral Geosciences), the reliable use of unmanned/robotic systems, autonomous operations, remote sensing, anti-submarine warfare, ocean engineering, artic operations, marine mammals/biology, physical oceanography, metrology/METOC and emerging undersea warfare capabilities.
Project 1398 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.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 117.7 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 127.5 |
| FY2027 | Request | 114.9 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 122.2 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 128.7 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 119.4 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 116.3 |
7 accomplishments / planned programs
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. 3 of them describe FY2027 work in enough detail to have their own page; the rest are shown here in full. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.
- Continue research investigations to improve the quality of the environmental analysis and prediction provided in support of warfighters, including the assessment of the impact of the atmosphere and ionosphere-thermosphere-magnetosphere on the performance of sensors, platforms and weapon systems, and the advancement of our basic…
Read the FY2027 plan →- Continue research into Atmospheric Processes. The objective of this effort is to improve our understanding of complex atmospheric processes involving multiple scales in time and space and explore new, innovative strategies for observing, representing, and predicting the atmosphere. Efforts in this area encompass processes in the…
Read the FY2027 plan →- Provide support to meteorological, limnology, and oceanographic research vessels, aircraft, manned and unmanned platforms and associated services (Such as winches, instrumentation, portable ship-borne scientific laboratory vans and data storage) especially those provided by the ARF to enable at-sea oceanographic science.
Read the FY2027 plan →FY2027 planned work - Continue research efforts in physical oceanography, acoustics and prediction to understand the exploitation of structural/physical acoustic processes. Research efforts explore factors in the assessment and reduction of the threat posed by enemy submarines and mines, the determination of methods to reduce the vulnerability of U.S. submarines, the development of next generation sonar and sensor systems, and in the development of new micro-structure and nano-structure devices. The objective is to develop new and improved techniques for understanding, detecting, visualizing, exploiting, predicting, and controlling the interactions between acoustic and elastic waves, and structures. These…
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is due to increased research in physical oceanography and electro-optics and magnetics sensing in ocean environment.
FY2026 plans — current year - Continue research efforts in physical oceanography, acoustics and prediction to understand the exploitation of structural/physical acoustic processes. Research efforts explore factors in the assessment and reduction of the threat posed by enemy submarines and mines, the determination of methods to reduce the vulnerability of U.S. submarines, the development of next generation sonar and sensor systems, and in the development of new micro-structure and nano-structure devices. The objective is to develop new and improved techniques for understanding, detecting, visualizing, exploiting, predicting, and controlling the interactions between acoustic and elastic waves, and structures. These…
FY2027 planned work - Continue research efforts in Ocean Acoustics to investigate physical phenomenon related to in oceanic environments. This program is focused on extending acoustic propagation simulation technology as a fundamental tool for understanding the environment through inversion methods and performance prediction. Efforts in this area of research are investigating acoustic propagation and interactions with the sea surface and seabed to improve system prediction performance, sonar processing, and to discover novel concepts for Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW). Research will include the ability to remotely determine the complete elastic properties of the ocean's sediment will address serious shortcomings…
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is due to reduced research in ocean acoustics to investigate physical phenomenon related to in oceanic environments for ASW systems.
FY2026 plans — current year - Continue research efforts in Ocean Acoustics to investigate physical phenomenon related to in oceanic environments. This program is focused on extending acoustic propagation simulation technology as a fundamental tool for understanding the environment through inversion methods and performance prediction. Efforts in this area of research are investigating acoustic propagation and interactions with the sea surface and seabed to improve system prediction performance, sonar processing, and to discover novel concepts for Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW). Research will include the ability to remotely determine the complete elastic properties of the ocean's sediment will address serious shortcomings…
FY2026 to FY2027 change The decrease in funding from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is due to the realignment and consolidation of all expeditionary funding under PE 0601153N to the new Expeditionary Campaigns project number 1510 within this PE. Planned programs have been updated to align to current expeditionary and naval priorities.
FY2026 plans — current year - Continue research to understand nearshore and littoral environmental effects on future multidomain expeditionary operations. (Expeditionary Warfare) - Complete research efforts in sensors and sensing technologies to enable stand-off detection and rapid neutralization of explosive hazards in multiple expeditionary mission environments while maintaining operational tempo. (Expeditionary Warfare) - Initiate study of littoral mud flats and shorelines by investigating interlinked processes such as soil-sea-ice-air and benthic Life Interactions. Methods and investigation should include theory, modeling, field and remote sensing/satellite based focus areas for global understanding…
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease from FY2026 to FY2027 is due to completion of atmospheric, space environment, and solar system research areas.
FY2026 plans — current year - Complete research investigations into the geospace, which extends from the mesosphere up to the thermosphere. This is the environment in which the ionosphere is embedded and in which many low-Earth orbit satellites are located. Thus, the Extended Operational (Geospace) Environment research aims at developing a fundamental understanding of the relevant physical, chemical and dynamic processes in this altitude regime, and the development of innovative approaches to sense and monitor the relevant environment, as well as the impacts of the solar and lower atmospheric drivers and their respective impacts. Real time knowledge and the ability to forecast this environment are highly relevant to…