# Distributed Radio Frequency Sensing

**R-2A activity** of project 627622 — Multispectral Sensing & Countermeasures Technology  
**Program element:** 0602204F — Aerospace Sensors  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force · **Budget Activity:** 2  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602204F/627622/a2  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602204F/627622

## Summary

This activity requests $16.7M in FY2027, 32% of project 627622, down 28% 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 development of enhanced radio frequency modeling and simulation tools for evaluation of passive radar performance in complex environments. - Continue integrating high-fidelity modeling and simulation with mission level modeling to demonstrate operational utility of distributed and passive radar concepts. - Continue analysis of bi-static target/ground scattering phenomenology and bi-static high resolution radar data in conjunction with advanced automated target recognition algorithms to demonstrate improved accuracy and timeliness for combat identification of complex targets. - Continue investigations into synchronizing less capable radars to determine if they can achieve or exceed high value asset performance creating targeting/automatic target recognition-quality synthetic aperture radar imagery. - Continue investigations into performing automatic target recognition on moving targets. - Complete enhancements of multi-static synthetic aperture radar algorithms to support combat identification and automatic target recognition requirements on tactical timelines. - Complete data collection and analysis to assess distributed radar concepts for ground moving target indicator and synthetic aperture radar. - Complete enhancement of clutter modelling capability by incorporating sea clutter models from the Navy into the Department of the Air Force analysis tools to support performance and mission modeling including maritime targets. - Commence monostatic and bistatic data fusion for enhanced long-range detection and tracking of air and surface threats to the homeland and other theaters - Commence implementation of distributed RF algorithms for coherent and non-coherent fusion of distributed radar data to enhance detection, ID and track of moving targets

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY 2027 decreased compared to FY 2026 by $6.422 million due to a reduction in the development distributed passive sensing technology. This reduction is the result of a strategic realignment of the Department of the Air Force's Science and Technology (DAF S&T) portfolio, which aims to optimize core research areas and improve resource efficiency.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Continue enhancements of multi-static synthetic aperture radar algorithms to support combat identification and automatic target recognition requirements on tactical timelines. - Continue data collection and analysis to assess distributed radar concepts for ground moving target indicator and synthetic aperture radar. - Continue development of enhanced radio frequency modeling and simulation tools for evaluation of passive radar performance in complex environments. - Continue enhancement of clutter modelling capability by incorporating sea clutter models from the Navy into the Department of the Air Force analysis tools to support performance and mission modeling including maritime targets. - Continue integrating high-fidelity modeling and simulation with mission level modeling to demonstrate operational utility of distributed and passive radar concepts. - Continue analysis of bi-static target/ground scattering phenomenology and bi-static high resolution radar data in conjunction with advanced automated target recognition algorithms to demonstrate improved accuracy and timeliness for combat identification of complex targets. - Complete development of multi-static transmit waveforms and receive processing chains for multi-static ground moving target indicator concepts. - Complete investigation of potential platform constraints. - Complete multi- and cross-domain applications. - Commence investigations into synchronizing less capable radars to determine if they can achieve or exceed high value asset performance creating targeting/automatic target recognition-quality synthetic aperture radar imagery. - Commence investigations into performing automatic target recognition on moving targets.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 13.6 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 23.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 16.7 |

> 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 627622

- [Multiband Multifunction Radio Frequency Sensing](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602204F/627622/a0) — FY2027 19.6
- [Laser Radar Sensing in Contested Environments](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602204F/627622/a3) — FY2027 11.9
- Passive Electro-Optical/Infrared Sensing in Contested Environments — FY2027 4.3
- Passive Radio Frequency Sensing — FY2027 0.0

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0602204F project 627622 (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.*