# Materials — Program Element 0602102F

**Program element:** 0602102F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 2 — Applied Research  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force funding falls 40% to a $139.9M request in FY2027 (down from a FY2026 peak), sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House added 9.3% (to $152.9M); the Senate added 7.1% (to $149.9M); House appropriators added 60% (to $223.3M).

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 176.7 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 232.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 139.9 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 146.9 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 156.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 159.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 158.0 |

> 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 | 139.9 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 152.9 | +13.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 149.9 | +10.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 223.3 | +83.4 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (3)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 624347 | Materials for Structures, Propulsion, and Subsystems | 80.8 | 95.5 | 55.1 | −42% |
| 624349 | Materials Technology for Sustainment | 45.7 | 46.1 | 46.3 | +0% |
| 624348 | Materials for Electronics, Optics, and Survivability | 50.1 | 90.6 | 38.5 | −57% |

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

### Project 624347 — Materials for Structures, Propulsion, and Subsystems

This project develops and transitions materials and processing technologies to enhance the affordability, maintainability, and performance of current and future Air Force weapon systems. A key focus is affordable, lightweight materials for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, and propulsion systems. These materials include metals, polymers, ceramics, metallic and nonmetallic composites, and hybrid materials, designed to improve the structural and performance of existing systems and to address future system needs. Key features of the materials and structures being developed are that they have improved ablation and oxidation resistance, structural integrity, thermal management capabilities, and strength to weight ratios. These attributes enable expanded mission capability for missile and aircraft systems. New processes are developed to provide more affordable solutions while maintaining the performance of fielded and future operational systems. To maintain the performance of fielded systems, the project develops alternative or replacement materials that address obsolescence challenges. The project develops advanced processing methods to enable adaptive manufacturing of aerospace materials.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramics and Composites | 25.3 | 29.4 | 26.1 |
| Metals | 17.1 | 19.9 | 18.9 |
| Thermal Protection Materials | 5.1 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| Pervasive and Affordable Metals Technologies | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.2 |

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

### Project 624349 — Materials Technology for Sustainment

This project develops materials and processing technologies to support operational Department of the Air Force mission areas by providing the ability to inspect the quality of delivered systems, transition more reliable and maintainable materials, establish a capability to detect and characterize performance threatening defects, characterize materials processes and properties necessary for materials transition, and provide quick reaction support and failure analysis to the operational commands and repair centers. Repair techniques and nondestructive inspection/evaluation (NDI/E) methods are developed that are needed for metallic and non-metallic structures, coatings, corrosion control processes, and to support integration of composite structures for aerospace systems. Various NDI/E methods are essential to ensure optimum quality in the design and production of aircraft, propulsion, and missile systems. These NDI/E methods are also essential to monitor and detect the onset of any service-initiated damage and/or deterioration due to aging of operational systems.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material State Awareness | 16.0 | 16.1 | 16.2 |
| Materials/Processes for Affordable Survivability | 11.9 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Failure Analysis and Mishap Prevention Technologies | 17.8 | 18.0 | 18.0 |

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

### Project 624348 — Materials for Electronics, Optics, and Survivability

This project develops materials technologies for the Department of the Air Force's Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), situational awareness, and specialty coatings for aerospace platforms and munitions. This includes sensors for microwave, short, mid, and long-wave infrared (SWIR, MWIR, LWIR) detection and countermeasures devices used for targeting, electronic warfare, and active aircraft protection. Electronic and optical materials are being developed to enable surveillance and situational awareness with faster operating speeds, greater tunability, higher power output, improved thermal management (including higher operating temperatures), greater sensitivity, and extended dynamic range. This project develops materials for protection of aircrews, sensors, and aerospace structures from directed energy threats without impairing mission effectiveness. Biotechnological materials are being developed for aerospace structures, resilient basing, energetics and advanced coatings.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Materials | 11.6 | 12.7 | 11.9 |
| Materials for Electromagnetic Protection | 11.2 | 12.3 | 11.6 |
| Laser Source Materials | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Biological Materials | 13.1 | 14.5 | 13.5 |

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

This program develops advanced materials, processing, and inspection technologies to reduce life cycle costs and improve performance, sustainability, availability, affordability, supportability, reliability, and survivability of current and future Department of the Air Force systems and operations. The program has three projects that develop: structural, propulsion, and sub-systems materials and processes technologies; electronic, optical, and survivability materials and processes technologies; and sustainment materials, processes technologies, and advanced non-destructive inspection methodologies. This program is accomplished by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

## Related program elements

- [0207136F — F-16 HARM Targeting Sys](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207136F) (Air Force)
- [0605709A — Exploitation of Foreign Items](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605709A) (Army)
- [0101127F — B-2 Squadrons](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0101127F) (Air Force)
- [0603116A — Lethality Advanced Technology](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603116A) (Army)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0602102F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0602102F")`.

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