# Operational Energy Surety

**R-2A activity** of project 456 — Operational Energy Surety  
**Program element:** 0603055D8Z — Operational Energy Capability Improvement  
**Component:** Defense-Wide · **Budget Activity:** 3  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603055D8Z/456/a0  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603055D8Z/456

## Summary

This activity requests $39.7M in FY2027, 100% of project 456, down 0.3% 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.** In FY 2027, OEM strengthens operational readiness and empowers warfighters to successfully execute missions by: • Golden Dome and High-Power Energy Requirements: Integrating directed energy component technologies into platforms and weapons systems, conducting power conditioning, increasing the domestic supply chain in support of advanced propulsion and energy storage of air platforms (including one-way kinetic effects), and advancing coupled thermal energy storage and advanced power controls for high-power applications • Securing Strategic Advantages: Improving Joint Force lethality by denying adversaries access to their own electrical infrastructure and advancing ability to harvest power from host infrastructure • Increasing Power Availability: Implementing aviation weight and drag reductions, advancing next-generation powerplants, efficient on-board power, wireless energy transfer, advanced energy electronics, and energy harvesting for extending mission endurance and preserving overmatch • Energy Extension: Leveraging advanced lithium-ion batteries to extend system-wide advantages through accurate, real-time battery health, life, and range assessment; enabling early fault detection and remediation; and providing echelon visibility through DoW systems to enhance operational planning and energy logistics management • Extending the Reach of Air Power: Advancing autonomous aerial concepts such as tankers, swarms, high-altitude balloons, and novel Uncrewed Aerial Systems, while applying innovative designs, composites, low-signature enhancements, and AI/ML flight management to achieve ultra-high endurance in contested environments • Tactical/Combat Platforms (Ground/Maritime): Enabling increased range, autonomous crewed/uncrewed platforms, interoperable charging, expanding intelligent power distribution with JADC2, ensuring modular adaptability for energy systems in contested environments; securing Tactical Micro-grid Standard adoption/integrations to enhance platform lethality, survivability, and thermal/acoustic management in combat conditions

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** The $2.260M program decrease limits technology maturation for resilient powered, and reduced acoustic signature, small boat providing coastal surveillance supporting defense of the homeland. Additional reductions due to congressional additions in FY 2026 not reflected in the 2027 request.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** OEM is committed to providing uninterrupted operational capabilities for the DoW, even in the face of energy supply disruptions. This commitment is achieved through the development and integration of innovative energy solutions across all platform types – fixed, mobile, autonomous, and crewed. OEM’s 49 active projects are focused on developing and transitioning technologies that directly support the Warfighter’s ability to maneuver, operate, survive, and be more lethal. The three FY 2026 new starts continue this focus by developing directed energy, and grid shaping and manipulation capabilities for the warfighters. In FY 2026, OEM is transitioning/closing 31 projects whose technologies and capabilities strengthen operational readiness, secure strategic advantages in complex conflict scenarios, and empower warfighters to successfully execute missions by: • Golden Dome and High-Power Energy Requirements: Innovating energy storage, power controls, energy-dense inverters, power distribution, and thermal management for radars, directed energy weapons, and other high-power applications • Energy Sustainment in Contested Logistics: Expanding Arctic battery and microgrid performance envelopes to –60C and expanding energy options for the warfighter in austere and contested regions • Mission Endurance and Interoperability: Extending resupply range and aircraft standoff distance through advanced aerial delivery systems, and ensuring interoperability of systems through microgrid standards • Enabling Advanced Maneuver, Lethality, and Survivability: Scaling autonomous platforms for refueling, reconnaissance, and decoy operations, advancing hybrid platforms to improve maneuverability, silent mobility, and endurance, and deploying modular and interoperable power systems for sharing exportable power in crewed/uncrewed teams • Extending the Reach of Air Power: Advancing aerial autonomous concepts such as tankers, swarms, high-altitude balloons, and novel Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), while applying innovative designs, composites, low-signature enhancements, and AI/ML flight management to achieve ultra-high endurance in contested environments

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | Enacted | 39.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 39.7 |

> 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.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0603055D8Z project 456 (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.*