# Project BC2 — Next Gen Mobility & Lethality Tech for Warfighters

**Program element:** 0602143A — Soldier Lethality Technology  
**Project:** BC2  
**Component:** U.S. Army  
**Appropriation:** 2040 — RDT&E, Army  
**Budget Activity:** 2 — Applied Research  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602143A/BC2  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602143A

## Summary

Project BC2 — Next Gen Mobility & Lethality Tech for Warfighters requests $24.2M in FY2027, 36% of the $68.0M requested for program element 0602143A, up 331% on FY2026. 7 R-2A activities decompose the request, 6 new this cycle.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 8.2 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 5.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 24.2 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 44.7 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 57.4 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 59.9 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 60.5 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0602143A; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project BC2 buys

This project conducts applied research, technology development, and demonstrations to enhance Soldier and small unit performance, survivability, and effectiveness across operational and training environments. By integrating innovative methodologies, advanced materials, and cutting-edge technologies and training techniques, the project addresses critical challenges in Soldier and small unit mobility, sustainment, lethality, and readiness. It investigates and develops design criteria, methods, metrics, and modeling & simulation (M&S) tools to determine the Soldier and Squad-System trade space to enhance physical and cognitive performance outcomes. The project uses advanced analytics and modeling to quantify readiness and performance, while strategies are explored to improve resiliency under adverse conditions. The project develops tools to address emerging operational paradigms to train for Information Advantage, focusing on cyber and information-related domains to prepare personnel for modern challenges while enhancing simulation and training capabilities in live, virtual and constructive environments leveraging artificial intelligence, data fusion, synthetic terrain and behavior modeling. The project investigates nutrient compositions and stabilization techniques to maximize Warfighter physical and cognitive performance, while technologies to detect and identify chemical and biological threats in foods reduce risks and improve readiness. Innovative ration and field feeding technologies further reduce resupply requirements and enhance operational independence. It designs and develops aerial delivery systems to enhance payload extraction, increase parachute gliding capabilities, and improve delivery accuracy for varying payload weights, while advancing airborne personnel insertion safety modernizing the Airborne Soldier and reducing mission risks. It develops advanced materials and manufacturing technologies to address the Army's unique need in future operating environments, including agile sustainment and distribution operations. It develops and demonstrates power and energy technologies to support Soldier and small unit operations, including energy storage (batteries), power generation, and power management and distribution systems.

## Activities (R-2A) — 7

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Service Combat Feeding Technology | — | — | 5.0 | new | — |
| Soldier/Squad-System Trade Space for Lethality & Readiness | — | — | 4.1 | new | — |
| Institute for Advanced Composites Engineering - Applied Research | — | — | 4.0 | new | — |
| Domestically Sourced Next Generation Batteries Technology | — | — | 3.7 | new | — |
| Personnel and Airdrop Safety Technology | — | — | 3.7 | new | — |
| Training and Simulation Technology | — | — | 3.7 | new | — |
| Human Interaction for Mobility & Lethality | 8.2 | 5.6 | — | −100% | — |

> 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.

### Joint Service Combat Feeding Technology — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Will investigate the effects of food processing technologies and storage on ration protein quality and effects on intestinal health and function using ex vivo models; will determine updated barrier requirements for optimal shelf-life of the Meal Ready-to-Eat retort and non-retort ration components, minimizing packaging materials and reducing soldier load; design food decontamination technologies to enhance squad-level sustainment in challenging logistical environments, allowing for rapid surface decontamination, decreasing the likelihood of foodborne illness and increasing Soldier safety.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding increase reflects transfer from Program Element (PE) 0602143A (Soldier Lethality Technology) / Project BE3 (Joint Service Combat Feeding Technology) to streamline and optimize the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio.

### Soldier/Squad-System Trade Space for Lethality & Readiness — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Will complete artificial intelligence (AI) recommender model framework for Command decision support; continue to investigate and integrate new model inputs and outputs into the predictive performance model that are deemed operationally relevant; investigate mixed methods human-machine integration for additional task sets (e.g., robotic autonomous systems (RAS), small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) control); investigate impact of technologies (to include supplementation) on physical performance, cognitive performance, recovery, etc. while under stress; investigate and develop novel soldier and squad metrics for combat power quantification; investigate brain computer interface technologies and workload algorithms.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding increase reflects realignment from Human Interaction for Mobility & Lethality within this project.

### Institute for Advanced Composites Engineering - Applied Research — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Will continue research in the competency areas of advanced manufacturing processes; composite research in support of advanced manufacturing; additive manufacturing technologies; design for additive manufacturing and digital manufacturing and design innovation.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding increase reflects transfer from Program Element (PE) 0602184A (Soldier Applied Research) / Project DO1 (Modernized Composites & Manufacturing) to streamline and optimize the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio.

### Domestically Sourced Next Generation Batteries Technology — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Will investigate novel electrolytes and cell components to improve energy density and rate capabilities at extreme temperatures and humidities and design preliminary domestic cells, integrating these new cell materials to support increased energy demand and sustainment of Soldier and Small Unit equipment and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding increase is to develop domestically sourced battery technology.

### Personnel and Airdrop Safety Technology — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Will mature modeling of paratrooper and cargo airdrop scenarios, validating simulations against collected data from aerial delivery operations, in support of airborne safety goals; Continue investigation of next-generation of high-performance gliding parachute systems with significant glide ratios, large wing loading ranges, and reduced weight/bulk; Conduct analysis of technological limitations preventing high altitude (>40k feet) delivery methods and identify paths to overcome limitations.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding increase reflects transfer from Program Element (PE) 0602143A (Soldier Lethality Technology) / Project BR9 (Personnel & Airdrop Safety Technology) to streamline and optimize the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio.

### Training and Simulation Technology — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Information warfare and kinetic/non-kinetic cyber effects for Live/Virtual/Constructive environments will be developed for seamless application across CONUS and OCONUS Combat Training Center (CTC) locations. Will develop and validate architecture for Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) training that leverages established performance measures and aligns with knowledge, skills, bilities, and behaviors frameworks, automating assessment of Soldier performance during CTC and Homestation Exercise Rotations. Key technical software development includes automated exercise generation systems, data fusion capabilities using 2D/3D formats with government and commercial sensors, hardware acceleration validation, and dynamic behavior algorithms for large-scale training scenarios. The effort will mature physics based munitions effects modeling and wireless data compression for Live/Virtual/Constructive environments and cUAS training activities. High fidelity engagement data models and scalable terrain architecture for Live ranges will be matured. Generative AI applications using Large Language Models will be investigated to automated/dynamic behavior in Virtual/Constructive environments. . Will investigate adaptive, multi-modal augmented reality interfaces for Army applications and study location-independent training delivery methods to improve learning outcomes. Will address medical training needs through physical and software solutions for prolonged care scenarios, including validation of consolidated physiology engines and haptic hardware for dynamic medical training use cases such as austere environments, sex-specific care considerations, and patient handoff procedures.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding increase reflects transfer from Program Element (PE) 0602143A (Soldier Lethality Technology) / Project BC7 (Training Technology (Other than STE)) to streamline and optimize the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio.

### Human Interaction for Mobility & Lethality

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding decrease reflects realignment to Soldier/Squad-System Trade Space for Lethality & Readiness within this project.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Will investigate nutritional supplementation to understand impacts on performance (e.g., recovery, physical performance, immune response, etc.); investigate brain-computer interface technologies for cognitive workload assessment capability; execute research data collection of impact of headborne load on Soldier task performance for data integration into a musculoskeletal modeling effort; continue investigation through data collections, analysis and reporting on the optimal combinations of information presentation and multimodal system inputs (e.g., gesture, gaze, voice, head movements) to optimize Soldier-System performance when interacting with augmented reality and/or autonomous systems during operationally relevant tasks; validate the integration of results of previous years meta-analyses and investigations of gaps in understanding between known stressors and their interaction on Soldier performance outcomes into the prediction models and investigate other known gaps that exist.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** Investigate a probiotic bacteria designed to mitigate fatigue and enhance Warfighter operational performance in a human study under simulated operational stress (sleep deprivation); investigate novel means (e.g., cognitive resistance training, neurostimulation, biofeedback, supplementation, physical augmentation systems) and guidelines for use to enhance Soldier performance; initiate the development of novel metrics to quantify the impacts of Soldier clothing and individual equipment (CIE) on Soldier performance that align to mobility, lethality and survivability continue to investigate the effects of head supported mass on Soldier task performance in order to develop higher fidelity models for simulation to inform headborne system design; conduct investigations to determine optimal combinations of information presentation and multimodal system inputs (e.g., gesture, gaze, voice, head movements) to optimize human performance when interacting with augmented reality during operationally relevant tasks; continue to conduct meta-analyses and conduct investigations to fill gaps of understanding between known stressors and their interaction on Soldier performance outcomes (e.g., reaction time, memory, endurance, strength, executive function, etc.).

## 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/0602143A.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Army RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0602143A project BC2 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0602143A")`.

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