# MALE Primary Hardware/Software Development/Integration

**R-2A activity** of project 3448 — Marine Group 5 UAS Development  
**Program element:** 0603128N — Unmanned Aerial System  
**Component:** U.S. Navy · **Budget Activity:** 4  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603128N/3448/a0  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603128N

## Summary

This activity requests $19.1M in FY2027, 54% of project 3448, up 93% 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.** MALE funding will advance the MQ-9A's capabilities by supporting the design, integration, and prototyping of payloads and sensors. These funds will also be used for ongoing development, testing, and the refinement of technical requirements to ensure the system's spiral development can rapidly integrate new technologies to counter evolving threats.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** An increase from FY2026 to FY2027 of $9.222 million is requested, with the majority allocated to advancing the primary development of the MDA solution. This funding will support the continuation of platform, secure mission control element and ground control station integrations, the initiation of laboratory activities, and planning for flight demonstrations to validate maritime detection, tracking, and data fusion performance. Funding supports completion of system prototype, environmental validation, and airworthiness certification, cybersecurity accreditation, and developmental test and operational assessment. This budget increase also provides for spiral capability development to enhance and mature technology towards full operational capability, including the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to stay ahead of threats and for DAAS system design updates to support FAA safety certification.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** MALE will support MQ-9A capability and payloads/sensors integration and continued development, Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE), design work, software upgrades, and Air Vehicle and Ground Control Station integration. MALE will also support programmatic, engineering, logistics, test, software baseline development and technical requirements refinement in support of spiral development and integration of payloads/sensors into the system required to pace evolving threats.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 44.7 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 9.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 19.1 |

> 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.

## Other activities in project 3448

- [MALE Mission Systems Payload Support](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603128N/3448/a1) — FY2027 12.5
- MALE Developmental and Operational Test — FY2027 4.1

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0603128N project 3448 (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.*