# Project AY5 — Soldier Squad Small Arms Armaments Advanced Tech

**Program element:** 0603118A — Soldier Lethality Advanced Technology  
**Project:** AY5  
**Component:** U.S. Army  
**Appropriation:** 2040 — RDT&E, Army  
**Budget Activity:** 3 — Advanced Technology Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603118A/AY5  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603118A

## Summary

Project AY5 — Soldier Squad Small Arms Armaments Advanced Tech requests $11.7M in FY2027, 9.4% of the $125.1M requested for program element 0603118A, up 191% on FY2026. 4 R-2A activities decompose the request, 2 new this cycle.

## Funding profile

| 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 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0603118A; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## 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).

## Activities (R-2A) — 4

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Small Arms Advanced Tech (JSAAT) | — | — | 4.6 | new | — |
| Medium Machinegun for Maneuvers (Mounted and Dismounted) Technology (M4DT) | 2.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | −1% | — |
| Enhanced Range & Lethality Mortar System | — | — | 3.1 | new | — |
| Small Arms Technology Demonstration | 6.9 | — | — | — | — |

> 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.

### Joint Small Arms Advanced Tech (JSAAT) — NEW START

**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.

### Medium Machinegun for Maneuvers (Mounted and Dismounted) Technology (M4DT)

**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.

### Enhanced Range & Lethality Mortar System — NEW START

**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.

### Small Arms Technology Demonstration

**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.

## 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/0603118A.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Army RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0603118A project AY5 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603118A")`.

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