# ISR and Targeting of Surface Targets

**R-2A activity** of project 63665A — Sensing and Spectrum Warfare Technology  
**Program element:** 0603203F — Advanced Aerospace Sensors  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force · **Budget Activity:** 3  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603203F/63665A/a1  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603203F/63665A

## Summary

This activity requests $23.6M in FY2027, 35% of project 63665A, down 3.0% 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.** - Continue assessment and selection of surface sensing and sense-making capabilities of multi-modal surface target classification as appropriate; expand database of operationally relevant signatures, warfighter input, and previously acquired knowledge to select sensing phenomenology most capable of yielding novel capabilities. - Continue algorithm development of mission autonomy solutions as appropriate enabling the orchestration of unmanned airborne systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to maintain custody of critical surface targets with emphasis on the maritime environment; this includes the development of advanced analytics to forecast the behavior of operationally relevant surface targets. - Continue software and hardware integration and test in the systems integration laboratory/hardware integration laboratory. - Continue development of multi-platform live, virtual, and constructive testing and operational experimentation in relevant environments; refine the testing to focus on operationally relevant scenarios to determine novel capabilities. - Continue expansion of modeling, simulation, and analysis products to represent the maritime scenario of current interest enabling the necessary assessment of system design trades including weather and atmospheric impacts. - Continue to capture knowledge and design information using model-based system engineering; confirm best practices with current and potential customers to maximize the transition of knowledge and capability. - Continue hardware and software refinement to instantiate novel multi-modal, multi-platform sensing capabilities that meet identified needs; balance performance with cost, size, weight, power, and cooling and assess impact of these platform-imposed restrictions on the sensing's ability to perform in a highly contested environment. - Commence examination of mission/sensor coordination software and architectures, based on algorithms under development, to determine a candidate architecture for future multi-domain, maritime sensing capabilities.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY 2027 decreased compared to FY 2026 by $0.730 million due to programmatic adjustments to the DAF Science and Technology portfolio. This reduction reflects a strategic realignment to optimize core research areas and improve resource efficiency

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Continue assessment and selection of surface sensing and sense-making capabilities of multi-modal surface target classification as appropriate, based on operationally relevant signatures, warfighter input, sensing phenomenology, and previously acquired knowledge. Based on available information and warfighter needs, develop sensing technology (hardware and software). - Continue algorithm development of mission autonomy solutions as appropriate enabling the orchestration of unmanned airborne systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to maintain custody of critical surface targets with emphasis on the maritime environment. This includes the development of advanced analytics to forecast the behavior of operationally relevant surface targets. - Continue development of advanced analytics to forecast the behavior of surface targets. - Continue software and hardware integration and test in the Systems Integration Laboratory/Hardware Integration Laboratory. - Continue development of multi-platform Live, Virtual, and Constructive testing and operational experimentation in relevant environments. - Continue expansion of Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis products to represent the maritime scenario of current interest enabling the necessary assessment of system design trades. - Continue to capture knowledge and design information using Model Based System Engineering. - Commence hardware and software refinement to instantiate novel multi-modal, multi-platform sensing capabilities that meet identified needs. During development, balance performance with cost, size, weight, power, and cooling. Assess impact of these platform-imposed restrictions on the sensing's ability to perform in a highly contested environment.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 10.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 24.3 |
| FY2027 | Request | 23.6 |

> 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 63665A

- [Spectrum Dominance Technology Demonstrations](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603203F/63665A/a4) — FY2027 32.7
- [ISR and Targeting of Airborne Threats](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603203F/63665A/a3) — FY2027 10.5
- Multi-Spectrum Sensing Demonstration — FY2027 0.0
- Integrated Sensing Demonstration — FY2027 0.0

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0603203F project 63665A (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.*