# Project 040 — National Technical Nuclear Forensics

**Program element:** 0603161D8Z — Nuclear Matters, Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Project:** 040  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603161D8Z/040  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603161D8Z

## Summary

Project 040 — National Technical Nuclear Forensics requests $17.9M in FY2027, 40% of the $44.7M requested for program element 0603161D8Z, down 25% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request.

**Markets:** Nuclear Modernization — matched on the project title only, and no market size is quoted.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 29.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 23.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 17.9 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 15.6 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 15.7 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 16.1 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 16.5 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0603161D8Z; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 040 buys

Per National Security Presidential Memorandum 35, the Department of War (DoW) leads the United States Government (USG) post-detonation National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) capability and directs the U.S. to maintain and advance NTNF capabilities leading to the attribution of the source of an actual or attempted nuclear attack in all environments. Per the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, greater investment in NTNF tools is required to ensure they remain responsive to the threat. Per DoDD S-2060.04, OUSW(A&S) is the DoW office responsible for DoW’s NTNF capabilities. Per the FY 2022 – FY 2026 Nuclear Forensics Analysis System Plan, accelerated timelines are required for the NTNF capability to collect, analyze, and evaluate both air and ground post-nuclear detonation samples. This program is the only DoW RDT&E program focused on Advanced Component Development & Prototypes for NTNF capabilities. Collecting analyzing and evaluating post-detonation prompt signals and nuclear debris is critical to ensure the USG can identify the source of nuclear material and holding those involved or supporting an attack accountable is critical to our national defense and security. Swift and accurate forensic and attribution capabilities are vital to supporting the President and Secretary of War in developing an appropriate, and timely, national response to a nuclear event and to prevent future attacks. An effective NTNF capability ensures potential adversaries, or those who support them, know that they will be held accountable if they use proxies or other non-traditional delivery (e.g., false-flag operations) of nuclear weapons against the U.S., U.S. interests, or allies. Both internal and independent studies indicate that continued improvement to the USG's NTNF capabilities is needed to sustain a credible deterrent against an attempted or actual nuclear attack. Additionally, this program sustains perishable U.S. technical expertise at the operational DoW laboratories required to respond to a post-detonation NTNF event. The DoW's laboratory capability in this area is limited by capacity and technical expertise.

**R-3 lines of work:** Product Development; Management Services.

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NTNF Capability Development | 29.1 | 23.8 | 17.9 | −25% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603161D8Z/040/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.

### NTNF Capability Development

- Continue RDT&E investments in the collection, analysis, and evaluation of ground and airborne post-detonation debris samples. -- Continue to support collection: Improve ground collection capabilities and tools to accelerate mission timelines. -- Continue to support analysis: Improve debris and prompt signals analysis capabilities and…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603161D8Z/040/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/0603161D8Z.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0603161D8Z project 040 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603161D8Z")`.

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