# Materials for Electromagnetic Protection

**R-2A activity** of project 624348 — Materials for Electronics, Optics, and Survivability  
**Program element:** 0602102F — Materials  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force · **Budget Activity:** 2  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a1  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348

## Summary

This activity requests $11.6M in FY2027, 30% of project 624348, down 6.4% on FY2026. The R-2A exhibit describes it across FY2026–FY2027, including what the FY2027 money is planned to buy.

## What the FY2027 request buys

**FY2027 planned work.** - 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 structures and stoichiometries to optimize optical properties. -- Down-selection of optimized metasurface designs for further investigation. -- Development of novel dopants for liquid crystal photonics for improved dynamic range. - Continue the development and demonstration the of response of advanced optical materials, including hybrid materials, for survivability. Activities include: -- Down-selection of materials for further development based on the most promising performance. - Continue leveraging machine learning approaches and modeling and simulation for integration of multidomain protection into structures and devices. Activities include: -- Further refinement of models to better simulate material performance and compare against lab scale testing. - Continue the assessment of data, validation of repeatability, and utilization of computational materials science to enhance multi-scale modeling for design of robust, reliable, integrated protection. Activities include: -- Demonstration of the manufacturability of the design. - Continue the development of wavelength agile technologies in novel form factors to protect against nuclear flash blindness. Activities include: -- Progression from coupon size testing to demonstration articles.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding decreased in FY 2027 compared to FY 2026 by $0.789 million due to the down-selection of fewer candidate advanced hybrid materials for further investigation into electromagnetic spectrum survivability. This reduction reflects programmatic adjustments to the DAF Science and Technology portfolio for strategic realignment to optimize core research areas and improve resource efficiency.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - 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. - Continue the development and demonstration of the response of advanced optical materials, including hybrid materials, for survivability. - Continue leveraging machine learning approaches and modeling and simulation for integration of multidomain protection into structures and devices. - Continue the assessment of data, validation of repeatability, and utilization of computational materials science to enhance multi-scale modeling for design of robust, reliable, integrated protection. - Commence the development of wavelength agile technologies in novel form factors to protect system and subsystem materials against nuclear flash blindness.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 11.2 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 12.3 |
| FY2027 | Request | 11.6 |

> Prior, current and budget year only — an R-2A activity carries no five-year plan. It sums exactly into its project in the request year and not necessarily in any other.

## Other activities in project 624348

- [Biological Materials](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a3) — FY2027 13.5
- [Electronic Materials](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602102F/624348/a0) — FY2027 11.9
- Laser Source Materials — FY2027 1.5

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0602102F project 624348 (PB PB2027). Narrative is the government's own text.
- **No marks, no contractors at this grain** — congressional marks land on the program element and R-3 performers on the project.
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_activity`.

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