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

**Program element:** 0602102F — Materials  
**Project:** 624348  
**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/624348  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F

## Summary

Project 624348 — Materials for Electronics, Optics, and Survivability requests $38.5M in FY2027, 28% of the $139.9M requested for program element 0602102F, down 57% on FY2026. 4 R-2A activities decompose the request.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 50.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 90.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 38.5 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 39.8 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 43.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 43.9 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 44.7 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0602102F; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 624348 buys

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.

## Activities (R-2A) — 4

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological Materials | 13.1 | 14.5 | 13.5 | −7% | [a3](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a3) |
| Electronic Materials | 11.6 | 12.7 | 11.9 | −6% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a0) |
| Materials for Electromagnetic Protection | 11.2 | 12.3 | 11.6 | −6% | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a1) |
| Laser Source Materials | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +0% | — |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### Biological Materials

- Continue the validation and verification of scientific, engineering, and processing methods for domestic bio-production of critical materials including characterization, qualification, demonstration, downstream purification, production scale up, and biomanufacturing. Activities include: -- A focus on natural rubber, fuels, and…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a3

### Electronic Materials

- Continue the development, laboratory scale testing, and assessment of low-dimensional carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and superlattice structures for use in high resolution imaging by electromagnetic radiation. Activities include: -- Assessment of focal plane array performance against the state of the art for mission…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a0

### Materials for Electromagnetic Protection

- Continue the analysis, validation, and demonstration of the viability of inorganic/organic optical coatings, liquid crystal photonics, solid state photonics, and inorganic/organic optical metasurfaces technologies to protect against extreme electromagnetic environments. Activities include: -- Identification and growth of new crystal…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a1

### Laser Source Materials

**FY2027 planned work.** - Continue the demonstration and validation of semiconductor materials and processing control technologies to generate higher power lasers. Activities include: -- Fabrication and testing to verify key performance parameters. -- Establishment of new test capabilities to better measure properties of materials. -- Development of next generation single crystal fiber lasers and cladding. - Complete the demonstration and modeling of materials processes for controlling laser beam direction and focus with optical components and materials for frequency conversion, high power optical isolators, and mid-wave infrared laser sources for directed energy sources.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Not applicable.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Continue the demonstration and validation of semiconductor materials and processing control technologies to generate higher power directed energy lasers for aircraft survivability and other applications. - Continue the demonstration and modeling of materials processes for controlling laser beam direction and focus with optical components and materials for frequency conversion, high power optical isolators, and mid-wave infrared laser sources for directed energy sources.

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0602102F project 624348 (PB PB2027).
- **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.*