# Advanced Aerospace Sensors — Program Element 0603203F

**Program element:** 0603203F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 3 — Advanced Technology Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603203F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force requests $72.1M in FY2027, sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate added 4.2% (to $75.1M); House appropriators added 18% (to $85.1M).

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 35.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 69.1 |
| FY2027 | Request | 72.1 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 73.2 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 86.8 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 88.6 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 90.4 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 72.1 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 72.1 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 75.1 | +3.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 85.1 | +13.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63665A | Sensing and Spectrum Warfare Technology | 28.9 | 62.3 | 66.9 | +7% |
| 6369DF | AI-Enabled Multi-Domain Autonomous Combat Systems | 6.2 | 6.7 | 5.3 | −21% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 63665A — Sensing and Spectrum Warfare Technology

This project develops and demonstrates aerospace sensor and processing technologies, electronic warfare equipment, and precision navigation and timing systems for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, target, and attack radar applications in both crewed and uncrewed platforms, including electro-optical sensors and electronic counter-countermeasures for radars. It provides aerospace platforms with the capability to precisely detect, track, and target both airborne (conventional and low radar cross-section) and ground-based, high-value, time-critical targets in adverse clutter and jamming environments. Project activities include developing multi-function and multi-domain radio frequency and electro-optical systems including radar and electronic warfare technology and the position and timing information to enable distributed sensing. Desired warfighting capabilities include the ability to detect concealed targets in difficult background conditions.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-Spectrum Sensing Demonstration | 10.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ISR and Targeting of Surface Targets | 10.0 | 24.3 | 23.6 |
| Integrated Sensing Demonstration | 8.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ISR and Targeting of Airborne Threats | 0.0 | 4.9 | 10.5 |
| Spectrum Dominance Technology Demonstrations | 0.0 | 33.1 | 32.7 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

### Project 6369DF — AI-Enabled Multi-Domain Autonomous Combat Systems

This project area develops and demonstrates advanced technologies for closed-loop, multi-domain, multi-intelligence sources, multi-platform, multi-sensor automation and autonomy, providing capabilities in battle management, fire control, battlespace awareness and visualization, predictive analytics, target recognition, sensor and information fusion, and sensor / platform asset tasking. This project also conducts advanced investigations to determine solution credibility, in terms of underlying technology and in terms of consistency with future Department of the Air Force missions within highly contested environments. This project includes robust techniques to support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and targeting missions within adverse weather conditions and against adversaries employing deceptive techniques. This project includes development of software-intensive solutions suitable for cloud-based integration and for development/operations-like operational environments. This project develops technology for effective management of online and offline information sources incorporating both constrained and cooperative sensing. This project has been realigned to better reflect technical areas being emphasized such as autonomy, multi-domain and multi-sensor information processing, leverage of machine learning developments and enterprise-level modeling, simulation, and analysis.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Capability for Air Defense | 6.2 | 6.7 | 5.3 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

This program develops and demonstrates technologies for electro-optical sensors, multifunction radio frequency sensors, precision navigation and timing, and electronic countermeasures, as well as associated technologies, critical components and algorithms to support Department of the Air Force surveillance, targeting, and electronic combat warfighting capabilities. The program develops and demonstrates technologies for integrating sensors, precision timing and navigation, and electronic combat sensors and systems into a fused and seamless technology capability to demonstrate capabilities for rapid fielding.

## Related program elements

- [0603270F — Electronic Combat Technology](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603270F) (Air Force)
- [0304270A — Electronic Warfare Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0304270A) (Army)
- [0603135A — Counter Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-SUAS) Advanced Technology](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603135A) (Army)
- [0604327F — Direct Strike Penetrator Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604327F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0603203F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603203F")`.

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