# Project 0584 — Aircrew Protective Clothing & Devices

**Program element:** 0603216N — Aviation Survivability  
**Project:** 0584  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603216N/0584  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603216N

## Summary

Project 0584 — Aircrew Protective Clothing & Devices requests $11.3M in FY2027, 57% of the $20.0M requested for program element 0603216N, down 25% on FY2026. 3 R-2A activities decompose the request, 2 new this cycle. NAWCAD is the largest named R-3 performer at $8.8M, 78% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 13.5 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 15.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 11.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 9.3 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 9.4 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 9.1 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 9.4 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0603216N; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 0584 buys

Project 0584: Aircrew Protective Clothing & Devices (APCD) is an Advanced Component Development & Prototyping program that develops, matures, and tests advanced technologies that can lead to solutions that maximize aircrew Performance and Protection & Survivability. These efforts lower the technical/cost risks of integrating new technologies prior to formal acquisition program of record initiatives , enhance resulting investment benefits, and speed the delivery of capability to the Fleet. APCD Budget Activity (BA) 4 development, maturation, and integration work is necessary to transition BA 1-3 DoD, external partner, industry, and academia research, technologies, and future naval concept initiatives to BA 5+ operational assessment, integration, testing, evaluation and certification work. APCD funds are also used to establish and maintain critical subject matter expertise, tools, models, and laboratory capabilities that enable objective analysis, assessment, verification and validation of Aircrew Systems solution candidates, ensuring requisite Human and Technology Readiness Levels are achieved. Core activities align across two primary focus areas: Aircrew Performance and Aircrew Protection & Survivability. Aircrew Performance-aligned projects develop state-of-the-art, integrated technologies that improve readiness; mitigate the effects of exposure to environmental stressors; provide advanced sensor data on warfighter physiological and cognitive state; and optimize warfighter physical, physiological, and cognitive performance, effectiveness, and safety. Aircrew Protection & Survivability-aligned projects optimize aircrew protection and survivability across the entire anthropometric population by delivering state-of-the-art personal protective equipment (PPE), crash-worthy seating and harness/restraint systems, and survival systems designed, tested, and integrated to perform in the harshest environmental operating conditions during diverse mission scenarios.

**R-3 lines of work:** Product Development; Support; Test and Evaluation; Management Services.

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| NAWCAD | 8.8 | 78% |
| NAMRUD | 2.0 | 18% |
| USAMRAA | 0.5 | 4.4% |

> Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations. Shares need not reach 100% — unnamed and government work is in the denominator.

## Activities (R-2A) — 3

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircrew Protection & Survivability | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.8 | new | — |
| Aircrew Performance | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | new | — |
| Advanced Technology Crew Station | 13.5 | 15.2 | 0.0 | −100% | — |

> 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.

### Aircrew Protection & Survivability — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Continue evaluation and refinement of Human Body Models (HBM) for acute and chronic musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) mitigation. Transition from non-biofidelic Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) to biofidelic digital twins. Fully incorporate USN/USMC Anthropometry study results. Continue maturation and qualification of clear Laser Eye Protection (LEP) visor technology, improved mobile aircrew restraint systems, vibration isolation systems across all Rotary Wing/Tilt-Rotor (RW/TR) platforms, miniaturized ANR in-ear hearing protection with improved speech intelligibility. Continue development/refinement/transition of RW VIPER restraint system for additional use cases i.e., Search and Rescue (SAR) swimmer. Spiral development and transition of aircrew and maintainer clothing and PPE systems appropriate for extended survival in extreme environment (i.e., INDOPACOM, Polar). Continue to partner with NAMRU-D and other performers to access unique subject matter expertise, laboratory capabilities, and relevant APCD technologies in areas including but not limited to vibration isolation seating systems, acute and chronic MSD Human Body Model development and validation, and arctic environment capability gap closure.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is result of creation of a new accomplishment. Aircrew Protection & Survivability created to demonstrate the effective and strategic use of allocated resources to improve specificity and traceability.

### Aircrew Performance — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** Continue to explore, test, and develop design concepts of effective human-machine interfaces for crewed, uncrewed human/autonomy teaming. Mature brain-computer/brain-machine interface technology and biocybernetic system capability. Continue to advance operator state monitoring to detect physiological and cognitive degradation, hydration/dehydration, and fatigue for mishap prevention and adjudication. Continue to integrate data from USN/USMC Anthropometry study into updated aircraft and clothing/PPE acquisition requirements to more accurately reflect future aircrew target population for improved aircrew clothing/equipment fit and tariffing. Continue development of physical and digital human modeling capabilities to assess and quantify aircrew musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk. Mature enhanced noise dosimetry technology to determine deficiencies and effects of current protection. Continue to mature digital sensors and displays, and optics to meet the long-term night vision requirements of Naval aircrew. Conduct evaluation of prototype USN/USMC Embedded Care/Aircrew Conditioning Programs to inform fleet and program office transition plans. Continue to partner with NAMRU-D and other performers to access unique subject matter expertise, laboratory capabilities, and relevant APCD technologies in areas including but not limited to advanced biosensors, dehydration, physiological/cognitive degradation detection and notification, digital vision technology, and chronic MSD mitigation strategy development.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is result of creation of a new accomplishment. Aircrew Performance created to demonstrate the effective and strategic use of allocated resources to improve specificity and traceability.

### Advanced Technology Crew Station

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Decrease from FY 2026 to FY 2027 reflect transition from one (1) Accomplishment/Planned Program, Title: Advanced Crew Station Technology, to two (2) Accomplishments/Planned Programs, Title(s): Aircrew Performance and Aircrew Protection & Survivability for improved specificity and traceability.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Baseline capability of I-Predict (Incapacitation Prediction for Readiness in Expeditionary Domains) transitions from ONR/FNC performers to Human Systems Engineering Department (HSED). First use cases will complete verification and validation of modeling capability. Biofidelic models will aid with design, development, and testing of advanced personal protective equipment (PPE). Utilize I-Predict's research, performers, testing results and cadaver based digital twins to improve the bio fidelity of the model. Expansion of the digital human modeling capability will be used to assess head, neck, spine vertebral alignment/position for the design of PPE and seating systems. Mature prototypes of Active Noise Reduction (ANR), Dosimetry, Digital Signal Processing and related hearing protection and speech intelligibility technologies. Protect aircrew hearing while providing effective ANR allowing intelligibility of voice communication and audio alerts. Focus on moving hearing protection to in-ear solutions. Development areas include miniaturizing components, adding dosimetry, improving signal processing, maintaining hearing situational awareness and addressing power requirements. Four key elements involved in digital night vision: Sensors, displays, optics, and image processing. Continue to advance the development of each element while addressing integration into a digital night vision system. Technology gaps to be addressed are: Control of weight and center of gravity for integrated display/optic; Full Color maintaining daylight readability and night utility; Resolution allowing full performance night vision imagery; and expanded Field of View. Usability Assessment tool for maturing Human Interfaces will be advanced to address evolving Air Wing of the Future (AWOTF) and Human Autonomy Teaming (HAT) performance requirements. Activities will address human performance as a function of cognitive workload and decision support to optimize situational awareness/decision-making to deliver integrated warfighting capabilities. Transition and continue spiral improvements to an aircraft/aircrew-mounted laser event recorder (LER) to detect and alert the warfighter when targeted/irradiated by a laser. The LER will record characteristics of the laser strike (e.g., wavelength, power, pulse duration, etc.), as well as capture a picture of the scene with global positioning system (GPS) coordinates. With changing laser event vision damage threats, dielectric coatings will continue to be refined and evaluated to provide higher optical densities in the long wavelength visible and near infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This includes improved lamination and profiling of dielectric filters. Explore adding photosensitive filters (i.e., photochromics) to provide a day /night solution. Support NAMRU-D Advanced Development activities in areas including biosensors, oximetry, human performance, night vision, adaptive displays, anthropometry, neck/back pain, and hearing protection that are aligned to aeromedical priorities and target transition programs. Continue development of Mask Sensors and Operator State Monitoring systems including evaluation of prototype warning modalities for range of use cases including cognitive degradation, physiological impairment, task saturation, and / or mishap adjudication. Verify and validate performance and refine component and subsystem capability as required. Advance Aircrew Systems for current/future missions while addressing Aircrew Endurance. Advancements will address obsolete and out-of-date aircrew systems that no longer meet and/or address current fleet needs/requirements. Areas include: back and neck pain/injury; reducing bulk and weight of aircrew systems; acute and chronic injury mechanisms; aircrew protection and performance; potential longer recovery times in water; polar missions; and pre-conditioning.

## 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/0603216N.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0603216N project 0584 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603216N")`.

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