What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 625173 of PE 0602605F. 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.
-Continue in-house development, validation, and transition of predictive, high-fidelity multi-physics modeling tools required to optimize laser weapon system design concepts. Activities include: validating and deploying models, developing the modeling tools needed to support future laser weapon system capability demonstrations, and transitioning those tools to industry to help optimize system performance before the hardware build phase(s). - Continue development of laser subsystem technologies to advance the state of the art of continuous wave and pulsed laser sources, optical beam combination techniques, optical beam control technologies, and laser beam propagation/compensation techniques. Activities include: finalizing technologies for each subsystem to be transitioned into the laser weapon system capability demonstrator (PE 0603605F/Project 633151), as well as developing new and advancing existing subsystem technologies needed for future laser weapon system demonstrations. - Continue in-house development of laser vulnerability models and laser effects assessments for high-priority emerging threat systems. Activities include: finalizing critical threat-vulnerability and laser effects data packages to support the development of the laser weapon system capability demonstrator (PE 0603605F/Project 633151), as well as developing additional data packages needed for future airborne laser weapon system demonstrations. - Continue participation in Department of War-wide tabletop exercises and wargames via development and implementation of laser weapon system engagement concepts against targets of interest. Activities include development of laser weapon system engagement models, wargame participation, and generating the critical laser weapon system employment data required to design, develop, and demonstrate effective laser weapon system capabilities. - Continue development and implementation of in-house model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and digital engineering constructs. Activities include: developing and deploying systems engineering models and workflows to guide the airborne laser weapon system capability demonstrator development (PE 0603605F/Project 633151), as well as to direct in-house technology development needed for future laser weapon system demonstrations.
In FY 2027 funding increased by 2.004 million compared to FY 2026 due to continuation of development of laser subsystem technologies to advance the state of the art of continuous wave and pulsed laser technologies.
FY2026: the year under way
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.
- Continue in-house development, validation, and transition of predictive, multi-physics modeling tools required to optimize laser weapon system concept designs. Activities include: preparing validated models to enable technology demonstration which is expected to kick off in FY 2027 (PE 0603605F/Project 633151). - Continue development of laser subsystem technologies to advance the state of the art of continuous wave and pulsed laser sources, optical beam combination techniques, optical beam control technologies, and laser beam propagation/compensation techniques. Activities include: preparing technologies for transition into planned laser technology demonstrator system development expected to kick off in FY 2027 (PE 0603605F/Project 633151). - Continue in-house development of laser vulnerability models and laser effects assessments for high-priority emerging threat systems. Activities include preparing critical threat-vulnerability data packages and laser effects data packages to inform laser system technology demonstrator development expected to kick off in FY 2027 (PE 0603605F/Project 633151). - Continue efforts to transition high-fidelity, multi-physics, laser and beam-propagation modeling and simulation capabilities that accurately predicts complex system performance, enabling partners to effectively design and validate laser system performance before hardware build phase(s). Activities include: finalizing current model versions and transitioning them to the Department of War and industrial partners. - Continue participation in Department of War-wide tabletop exercises and wargames via development and implementation of laser weapon system engagement concepts. activities include: wargame participation and generating critical laser weapon system employment data (from wargame results) required to design, develop, and demonstrate effective laser weapon system capabilities. - Commence development and implementation of in-house model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and digital engineering constructs. Activities include: developing systems engineering models and workflows to inform planned laser weapon system demonstrator development expected to kick off in FY 2027 (PE 0603605F/Project 633151) and to direct in-house technology development that will feed these demonstrations.
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 | 46.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 48.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 50.8 |
This activity is 100% of project 625173's FY2027 request and 55% of PE 0602605F'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 625173
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.