What project DN6 buys
This project supports research on munitions, kinetic and non-kinetic payloads, and weapons in energetics, propulsion, flight, guidance, warheads, guns, material science, and electromagnetic device packages and sensors. This project also supports research in novel energetic materials and energetic monomer/polymer synthesis, composable design science, models for gun wear and erosion, and the development of algorithms, frameworks, and toolsets for cost-effective collaborative autonomous delivery of weapons. Electronic (e.g., jamming, spoofing) and kinetic (e.g., intercept) counters that disrupt nodes of defeat are within adversary reach. Enablers delivered in this research project provide entirely new approaches of dynamically adapting multi-functional systems of weapon systems (beyond improvements to field/air defense and cannon/missile artillery) and the means to physically realize this capability at relevant speed and size scales in collapsed formations to defeat complex, rapidly changing threats at depth. Work in this project complements Program Element (PE) PE 0601102A (Defense Research Sciences) / Project AA7 (Mechanics and Ballistics), PE 0602141A (Lethality Technology) / Project AH6 (Disruptive Energetics and Propulsion Technologies), and PE 0602141A (Lethality Technology) / Project CZ9 (Foundational Hypersonic Weapons Research). This Project transitions to PE 0602141A (Lethality Technology) / Project AH9 (Advanced Warheads Technology), PE 0602147A (Long Range Precision Fires Technology) / Project AG4 (Extended Range Artillery Munition Suite Technology), PE 0602141A (Lethality Technology) / Project CI1 (Advanced Armaments Lethality Technology), PE 0602141A (Lethality Technology) / Project CIA (Applied Armaments Tech for Distributed Lethality), PE 0602147A (Long Range Precision Fires Technology) / Project AF8 (Affordable Extended Range Precision Technology), PE 0603464A (Long Range Precision Fires Advanced Technology) / Project CZ8 (PrSM Modular Payload Advanced Development), and PE 0603464A (Long Range Precision Fires Advanced Technology) / Project BY2 (Advanced Hypersonics Technology). Work in this project is performed by Army Research Laboratory (ARL).
Project DN6 funding, FY2026–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | Enacted | 20.4 |
| FY2027 | Request | 20.6 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 21.6 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 21.6 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 22.6 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 22.9 |
5 accomplishments / planned programs
The R-2A exhibit — the only level of the budget that describes work that has not happened yet. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only, no five-year plan. 1 of them describes FY2027 work in enough detail to have its own page; the rest are shown here in full. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.
Will determine optimal formulation ingredients to maximize Gurney energy and long-term survivability for CL-20 containing warhead formulations; refine propellant formulation ingredients and processing conditions to deliver increased range for gun-launched munitions; explore materials and processing methods for application of high…
Read the FY2027 plan →FY2027 planned work Will develop compact multi-function RF architectures for sensing, electronic warfare, and communications on munitions; develop laboratory experiments to assess component viability and functionality and validate modeling and simulation efforts for EW effects; assess applications and use cases of convergent manufacturing of electronics into munitions; refine approaches for threat responsive collaborative autonomous delivery algorithms for munitions.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding increase reflects additional research in multi-function RF architectures.
FY2026 plans — current year Will devise electromagnetic payloads/skins and algorithms for deep sensing/targeting/battle damage assessment, electronic warfare, and communications on munitions; investigate convergent manufacturing of electronics into munitions; formulate approach for design optimization of sensors/electronics into munitions using advanced manufacturing techniques; develop threat-responsive collaborative autonomous delivery algorithms for munitions.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease reflects realignment to Dense Energetic Materials Science and Multifunctional Munitions within this project.
FY2026 plans — current year Will explore propellant and fuel formulation and processing in support of air-breathing propulsion and gun propulsion to include novel gas generation technology; identify power versus sensitivity relationship of explosive formulations.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease reflects realignment to Dense Energetic Materials Science and Multifunctional Munitions within this project.
FY2026 plans — current year Will investigate gun tube alloy synthesis and coating processing for the interior of the gun tube; conduct modeling approach for design optimization of guns; improve models of gun erosion using 37-mm combustion/vented chamber experiments.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease reflects realignment to Dense Energetic Materials Science and Multifunctional Munitions within this project.
FY2026 plans — current year Will improve ignition and interior gun ballistics modeling; conduct combustion and regression modeling of air-breathing propulsion in conjunction with small-scale experiments; mature novel gas generation technologies for munition propulsion applications; perform experiments and improve modeling of maneuvering and powered flight of munitions; formulate flight control algorithms and mechanisms; synthesize fine-grained alloys for warhead liners; mature convergent manufacturing of liners; conduct design optimization framework for chemical energy-based lethal payloads in munitions; understand penetration of shaped charges and explosively formed penetrators using fine-grained alloys (including…