What project AY5 buys
This project demonstrates individual and crew-served weapon designs and technologies that enhance the fighting capabilities and survivability of the dismounted Warfighter in support of the Army's Soldier Lethality Modernization priority and all of the Services. This project matures blast overpressure characterization, monitoring and a wearable system that captures real-time physiological and blast exposure data to enable integrated Soldier monitoring in operational environments. All work is led by the Joint Service Small Arms Program (JSSAP) and is based upon the Joint Service Small Arms Master Plan (JSSAMP) and the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System's Small Arms Analyses. Work in this project complements Program Element (PE) 0602143A (Soldier Lethality Technology) / AY6 (Soldier Squad Small Arms Armaments Technology). Work in this project is performed by the Armaments Center (AC).
Project AY5 funding, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 9.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 4.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 11.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 13.7 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 13.8 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 14.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 13.1 |
4 accomplishments / planned programs
The R-2A exhibit — the only level of the budget that describes work that has not happened yet. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only, no five-year plan. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.
FY2027 planned work Will mature high performance weapon enabler and munition prototypes and diagnostic tools to improve small arms system performance against future targets in relevant environments. Will optimize signature reduction, aided target recognition, and aim augmentation technologies. Will demonstrate integrated hardware, software, and algorithms to improve small arms fire control targeting performance with improved probability of hit and reduced time to effectively engage.
FY2026 to FY2027 change This is not a new start effort. Funding increase reflects realignment from Program Element (PE) 0603044A (Soldier Advanced Technology) / Project DN4 (Joint Service Small Arms Adv Tech) to streamline and optimize the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio.
FY2027 planned work Will mature projectile and cartridge case technologies for target defeat and target suppression; Will improve weapon test bed/surrogate for performance demonstration and validation. Will mature Future Medium Machine Gun barrel, suppressor, and system technologies to rapidly detect, suppress, and defeat personnel and vehicles.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease is an economic adjustment.
FY2026 plans — current year Will mature modeling and simulation of advanced small arms concepts by integrating projectile concept technologies into small caliber cartridges. Will improve ammunition, fire control, and operating group system technologies for enhanced performance. Will mature Future Medium Machine Gun test bed/surrogate for concept technology performance validation.
FY2025 accomplishments Will mature small arms concepts and models for target defeat, target suppression, and future operational needs; analyze high-risk components of machine gun, ammunition, and fire control subsystems for maturation and future demonstration; demonstrate system weight optimization through material selection and advanced system designs.
FY2027 planned work Will optimize the lethal capabilities of mortar system, validate the lethal capability by conducting developmental testing and demonstrations. Will validate the projectile aeroballistic performance through system demonstration in conjunction with planned programs. Will demonstrate, in a relevant environment, that mortar system comply with safe firing standards and that packaging prototypes comply with safe logistical transportation standards.
FY2026 to FY2027 change This is not a new start effort. Funding increase reflects realignment from Program Element (PE) 0603044A (Soldier Advanced Technology) / Project EA7 (Enhanced Indirect Fire Adv Tech) to streamline and optimize the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio.
FY2025 accomplishments Will optimize weapon and munition prototypes to improve small arms system performance against future targets in relevant environments; optimize signature reduction devices and automated target recognition and engagement technologies based on validation results; demonstrate hardware, software, and algorithms to improve small arms fire control targeting performance.