What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 624348 of PE 0602102F. 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.
- 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 relevance. - Continue with field demonstration of multifunctional metamaterials based on low-dimensional semiconducting materials for use in military imaging systems. Activities include: -- The assembly of camera systems with tailored spectral- and polarimetric-filter arrays and capability demonstration. - Continue the utilization of computational materials science to improve performance prediction and reliability models in partnership with cross-DoD efforts to assess performance and reliability of quantum materials utilizing computational methods as well as laboratory-scale fabrication and testing, including topological insulators, superconductors, multiferroics, and quantum dots for aerospace applications. Activities include: -- Development of an optimization technique for metamaterial coupled-quantum-well materials discovery for quantum light sources. -- Demonstration of on-chip high-brightness entangled photon generator. - Continue the verification and validation of thin film Lithium Niobate and Barium Titanate and associated processes for integration of radio frequency and optical signals as well as concepts for novel optical devices and components. Activities include: -- Fabrication of devices and initial lab scale testing. - Continue the development of photonics for aerospace applications and demonstrate nanostructured materials for components to enable agile radio frequency capability. Activities include: -- Laboratory scale testing and evaluation to demonstrate key performance characteristics - Continue the development with initial system fabrication and test of capabilities developed from quantum materials, including topological insulators, superconductors, multiferroics, quantum emitters, and processes for magnetic navigation. Activities include: -- Development of prototypes and initial testing of heterogeneous integration of nitrogen vacant diamond sensors based on heterogeneous integration. - Continue the development and testing of software defined imaging receivers to include radio frequency photonic receiver materials for signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronic warfare, and self-protect missions. - Continue the development with test and evaluation including key performance characterization of thin film ferromagnetics and multiferroic heterostructures for element-level frequency filtering in radio frequency (RF) and communication systems. Activities include: -- Reduction of insertion losses and size, weight and power (SWAP) constraints for RF filters. -- Improvements in interoperability with existing and emerging demodulators. - Continue the investigation of high temperature electronic materials for improved flight control and testing of hypersonic platforms. Activities include: -- Laboratory scale testing and optimization. -- Scale-up of memory arrays by reducing element size.
Funding decreased in FY 2027 compared to FY 2026 by $0.795 million due to the completion of the development of short-wave infrared and hyper-spectral materials, investigations into using carbon nanomaterials for ISR and chip-scale laser integration for optical communications. This reduction reflects programmatic adjustments to the DAF Science and Technology portfolio for strategic realignment to optimize core research areas and improve resource efficiency.
FY2026: the year under way
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.
- Complete specific development and demonstration of short-wave infrared detectors and hyper-spectral long wave infrared materials. - Complete the development and prototype demonstration of multi-spectral integrated chip-scale lasers supporting new classes of active sensing, infra-red countermeasure, and optical communication applications. - Complete the advanced development, demonstration and validation of carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and processes for control and detection of electromagnetic radiation for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) technologies. - Continue the development, testing, and assessment of low-dimensional carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and superlattice structures for use in high resolution imaging by electromagnetic radiation. - Continue the advanced demonstration of multifunctional metamaterials based on low-dimensional semiconducting materials combined with superlattice configurations from models for use in military imaging systems. - Continue the utilization of all aspects of computational materials science to improve performance prediction and reliability models, as well as analyzing quantum materials, such as topological insulators, superconductors, multiferroics, and quantum dots for aerospace applications. - Continue the verification and validation of thin film Lithium Niobate and Barium Titanate and associated processes for integration of radio frequency and optical signals as well as concepts for novel optical devices and components. - Continue the development of photonics for aerospace applications and demonstrate nanostructured materials for components to enable agile radio frequency capability. - Continue the development of techniques using quantum materials, including topological insulators, superconductors, multiferroics, quantum emitters, and processes for magnetic navigation. - Continue the development of software defined imaging receivers to include radio frequency photonic receiver materials for SIGINT, electronic warfare, and self-protect missions. - Commence the development of thin film ferromagnetics and multiferroic heterostructures for element-level frequency filtering in RF and communication systems. - Commence the investigation of high temperature electronic materials for improved flight control and testing of hypersonic platforms.
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 | 11.6 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 12.7 |
| FY2027 | Request | 11.9 |
This activity is 31% of project 624348's FY2027 request and 8.5% of PE 0602102F'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.
4 activities in project 624348
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 project page.