# Project 003 — Cyber Applied Research

**Program element:** 0602668D8Z — Cyber Security Research  
**Project:** 003  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 2 — Applied Research  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602668D8Z/003  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602668D8Z

## Summary

Project 003 — Cyber Applied Research requests $18.6M in FY2027, 100% of the $18.6M requested for program element 0602668D8Z, down 39% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 16.5 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 30.3 |
| FY2027 | Request | 18.6 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 18.9 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 19.2 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 19.6 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 19.6 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0602668D8Z; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 003 buys

Cyber Security Research supports the Department's National Defense Strategy priorities to Defend the U.S. Homeland including America’s skies and borders, and Deterring China in the Indo-Pacific. It does so by developing cyber capabilities that integrate functionally with electromagnetic spectrum operations to increase readiness and deterrence, particularly in priority areas such as USINDOPACOM. This program explores technical and scientific concepts to overcome challenges in the Joint Warfighting Environment with cyber effects and integrated non-kinetic options through applied research for an asymmetric advantage across all domains (maritime, land, air, cyberspace, and space). It applies the Joint Publication (JP) 3-0 principles of Mass, Maneuver, and Unity of Command to achieve specific outcomes with minimal collateral damage and unforeseen consequences for integrated non-kinetic effects development efforts are focused to support the Joint Warfighting Environment through intended cyber effects execution without perturbing the unintended kinetic and non-kinetic entities through disruptive integration of cyberspace operations with electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) and sensing. The program accelerates cyber S&T capability development to directly address INDSG priorities to defend the homeland and deter aggression/prepared to prevail in U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility against China. Adversaries are increasingly leveraging asymmetric tactics in the Joint Warfighting Environment. The Department of War (DoW) needs to evolve its approach to warfare, integrating cyber and non-kinetic effects to maintain a decisive advantage across all domains. The Non-Kinetic Advantage (NKA) project is a collaborative effort aimed at revolutionizing how the Joint Force employs non-kinetic capabilities. By focusing on four key pillars – Protect, Process, Visualize, and Align & Shape – NKA will deliver a decisive advantage in the information battlespace. NKA will enable the Joint Force to conduct faster, more effective operations across all domains, even in contested environments. Will provide Asymmetric Advantage by mastering the information battlespace, NKA will provide a decisive edge against adversaries, deterring aggression and ensuring US dominance.

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OUSW(R&E) Cyber Technologies | 16.5 | 17.6 | 18.6 | +6% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602668D8Z/003/a0) |

> 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.

### OUSW(R&E) Cyber Technologies

Pivot toward big-bet investments addressing strategic threats to Department of War cyber-EMSO convergence and overmatch: - Strategic EMS and Cyber Dominance enabling blue kill chains while disrupting adversary surveillance and targeting - Seamlessly integrated cyberspace, EMSO, and OIE - Fluidly delivering effects across all domains of…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602668D8Z/003/a0

## 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/0602668D8Z.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0602668D8Z project 003 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0602668D8Z")`.

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