What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project BB4 of PE 0602143A. 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.
Will investigate and mature advanced technologies to enhance Soldier survivability by integrating ballistic and non-ballistic protection, blast debris mitigation, flame resistance, vector protection, and environmental protection into textiles and protective equipment; design camouflage and concealment materials identified for extreme material performance opportunities for use in decoy and deception systems, uniforms, and other protection applications; generate counter-aided target recognition (AiTR) patterns via artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), fabricate samples via additive manufacturing, and incorporate designs into direct write process for Soldier-borne applications; obtain material performance data and utilize AI/ML AiTR detection model to optimize patterns in small unit formations.
Funding increase reflects transfer from Program Element (PE) 0602143A (Soldier Lethality Technology) / Project AZ2 (Body Armor & Integrated Headborne Technology) & Project AZ5 (Soldier Protection Technology - Vulnerability) to streamline and optimize the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio.
FY2025–FY2026: what came before
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.
Will investigate the impact of incorporating multiple functionalities, such as blast debris protection, vector protection, flame resistance, and moisture wicking into fiber, yarn and fabric constructions on each functionality to balance complexity and functional efficacy; determine the appropriate combination of functionalities at the fiber, yarn and fabric level and validate the design in a garment form factor; conduct experiments on novel fiber constructions for per-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) free fabric treatments; determine the practical limits of power and data transmission through a textile and validate with commercial and military electronic hardware; validate a Soldier/squad level water purification device concept that removes microbiological contaminants and hazardous chemicals with complex, dosed water to simulate contaminated ground water; validate the operational lifespan of a multiplexed water quality sensor as an end of life indicator for water filtration systems; determine efficacy of a camouflage material concept designed to reduce the effectiveness of aided target recognition algorithms and their ability to detect, recognize and identify dismounted Soldiers.
Perform studies to determine the effect of fiber spinning process parameters on the properties and fabrication of engineered fibers; investigate yarn design effect on properties and functionality, and design yarns to enhance multifunctional properties; investigate knitting, weaving and advanced fabric design methods to enhance blast debris protection, vector protection, flame resistance, and moisture wicking of potential military textiles; investigate electronics and programming needed for supporting fabrics with incorporated conductors for power and data; investigate ability to incorporate power and date transmission using commercial sensors; investigate the design and use of a management hub to support power and data distribution within the textile; design and investigate handheld water quality sensors that can measure water quality via more than one indicator (multiplexed); design a single water purification device at the soldier/squad level that combines capabilities to remove microbiological contaminants, hazardous chemicals and salt; investigate novel camouflage material approaches to reduce effectiveness of aided target recognition algorithms and their ability to detect, recognize and identify dismounted soldiers; develop simulated and laboratory-level demonstrators for camouflage materials.
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 | 4.3 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 4.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 12.2 |
This activity is 100% of project BB4's FY2027 request and 18% of PE 0602143A'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.
1 activity in project BB4
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.