What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 448 of PE 0601228D8Z. This is the budget justification's own description of work that has not happened yet — the one thing no other level of the budget carries.
Conduct annual merit-based competitions for HBCUs, TCUs, and MIs for basic research grants and/or equipment/ instrumentation grants that align with the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, the Secretary of War “Message to the Force” memorandum, USW(R&E) Critical Technology Areas memorandum, and Section 223 of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Section 223 of the FY 2026 NDAA requires the HBCU/MI Program to issue separate funding solicitations for HBCUs/TCUs and MIs. Continue research and education collaboration with the DoW laboratories to prepare future DoW scientists to conduct research that will match threats to capabilities. Continue to fund Centers of Excellence that conduct foundational research of critical technologies for the future deployment of emerging technology to maintain U.S. deterrence. Continue the summer internship and faculty fellowship programs to encourage interest in STEM fields and increase domestic talent at DoW. Conduct outreach activities to include webinars and one technical assistance workshop to expose HBCUs/MIs to DoW funding opportunities to conduct research to address/solve Defense science and technology challenges. Continue to implement recommendations provided by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in the report to Congress on defense research at HBCUs and other MIs as required by Section 262 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2020. Continue pilot program and activities required by Section 223 of the FY 2023 NDAA to increase the capacity and capability of eligible institutions. Continue collaboration with the Air Force for the sustainment of the tactical autonomy university affiliated research center at Howard University. Expand the SciTechCONNECT portal to connect institutions of higher education to collaborative DoW S&T resources and opportunities and maintain the portal to serve as a centralized hub to demystify complex acquisition processes.
The increase of $1.714 million between FY 2026 and FY 2027 reflects minor budget fluctuations.
FY2025–FY2026: what came before
Prior-year accomplishments and current-year plans from the same exhibit. Context for the FY2027 plan, not a series — an activity partitions its project exactly in the request year, but can under-cover it in earlier years.
Conduct annual merit-based competitions for HBCUs, TCUs, and MIs for basic research grants that align with the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, the Secretary of War “Message to the Force” memorandum, USW(R&E) Critical Technology Areas memorandum, and Section 223 of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Section 223 of the FY 2026 NDAA requires the HBCU/MI Program to issue separate funding solicitations for HBCUs/TCUs and MIs. Continue research and education collaboration with the DoW laboratories to prepare future DoW scientists to conduct research that will match threats to capabilities. Continue to fund Centers of Excellence that conduct foundational research of critical technologies for the future deployment of emerging technology to maintain U.S. deterrence. Continue the summer internship and faculty fellowship programs to encourage interest in STEM fields and increase domestic talent at DoW. Conduct outreach activities to include webinars and one technical assistance workshop to expose HBCUs/MIs to DoW funding opportunities to conduct research to address and solve Defense science and technology challenges. Continue to implement recommendations provided by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in the report to Congress on defense research at HBCUs and other MIs as required by Section 262 of the NDAA for FY 2020. Establish the pilot program and activities required by Section 223 of the FY 2023 NDAA to increase the capacity and capability of eligible institutions to achieve R1 status (very high research) on the Carnegie Classification scale. Issued the pilot program funding opportunity in February 2026. Five grant awards are planned with each award ranging up to $10 million over a five-year period. Continue collaboration with the Air Force for the sustainment of the tactical autonomy university affiliated research center at Howard University. Maintain the SciTechCONNECT portal to serve as a centralized hub to demystify complex acquisition processes and to provide a unified entry point.
Conduct annual merit-based competition of the HBCU/MI program for basic research, and/or equipment/instrumentation. Continue research and educational collaboration with the DoD laboratories. Continue the summer internship and faculty fellowship programs. Continue Centers of Excellence in support of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) critical technology areas and the National Defense Strategy in the areas needed to expand Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities for STEM scholars. Conduct annual review of the Centers. Conduct outreach activities, to include one webinar and two technical assistance workshops to expose Historically Black Colleges and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MIs) to funding opportunities in the DoD. Continue to examine and implement recommendations provided by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in the report to Congress on defense research at HBCUs and other MIs as required by Section 262 of the NDAA for FY 2020. Support efforts for R-2 HBCUs/MIs with high potential to elevate research activity in science and engineering disciplines critical to the national security functions of DoD and attain R-1 status on the Carnegie Classification scale. Continue collaboration with the Air Force for the sustainment of the first HBCU university affiliated research center at Howard University in tactical autonomy. Collaborate with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) on STEM, education, and workforce programs to increase the number of scientists and engineers available to DoD in critical technology areas. Team with ONR to expand fellowship programs that engage HBCU/MI faculty in DoD research, including both the 10-week summer Fellows program and the Distinguished Fellows Program supporting appointments ranging from one semester to one year. Issue two discrete funding opportunities for basic research awards and equipment awards to increase research and educational capability of HBCUs/MIs. Expand the HBCU/MI internship program to increase basic research ecosystem of additional scholars pursuing STEM disciplines important to national defense.
Three years, and no five-year plan
An R-2A activity publishes the prior year, the current year and the budget year. The FYDP outyears exist at project and program-element level and are deliberately absent here rather than inferred. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 96.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 98.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 99.7 |
This activity is 100% of project 448's FY2027 request and 100% of PE 0601228D8Z's. In the request year the activities under a project sum to it exactly; in the current year they under-cover it in about 9% of cases, so an activity's delta can legitimately exceed its parent's and the two must not be compared row to row.
1 activity in project 448
Every R-2A line of this project, largest FY2027 request first. Linked where the activity has enough of its own narrative to carry a page; the rest are shown in full on the program-element page.