RDT&E Program Element · President's Budget PB2027

Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance

PE 0603261N·U.S. Navy·Approp. 1319 — RDT&E·BA4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes
FY2027 Request
$3.2M
◆ Scaling +45%
HitchAI read

U.S. Navy funding ramps 45% to a $3.2M request in FY2027, sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. DLA leads the industry work.

FY2027 Request
$3.2M
▲ 45% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$2.2M
▼ 33% vs FY2025
FY2025 Actual
$3.4M
Prior year

For fiscal year 2027, the U.S. Navy is requesting $3.2M for Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance under RDT&E program element 0603261N, up 45% over FY2026.

Funding trajectory

Funding profile, FY2025–FY2031

Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.

03.4FY25ACTUAL2.2FY26ENACTED3.2FY27REQUEST3.2FY282.9FY293.0FY303.0FY31
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
Fiscal YearEstimate TypeAmount ($M)
FY2025Actual3.4
FY2026Enacted2.2
FY2027Request3.2
FY2028Outyear3.2
FY2029Outyear2.9
FY2030Outyear3.0
FY2031Outyear3.0
Where it sits

Acquisition lifecycle

This program is funded in RDT&E Budget Activity 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes.

Complete
Research
BA 1–2
Complete
Advanced Technology
BA 3
Current
Prototyping
BA 4
Later
Development & Fielding
BA 5–7
Inside the program element

1 project rolls up into PE 0603261N

Projects are the summable leaves — the PE total is their sum, never added to it. Program elements and projects carry the full five-year plan; activities stop at the budget year. This PE moves 45% overall, which can hide much larger swings below.

Project 2467

UxS Common Standards, Interoperability and Integration

$3.2MFY2027 request ▲ 45%
FY2025 actual$3.4M
FY2026 enacted$2.2M
FY2027 request$3.2M
Product DevelopmentSupportTest and EvaluationManagement Services

The Naval Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) leads the development and delivery of technical solutions to enhance Naval capabilities through improved UAS interoperability by creating standardized interfaces, common command & control systems, and seamless integration with Navy networks and platforms. Further developing sensors, communications, and networking systems to achieve seamless UxS integration. Conducts rapid development efforts to address Fleet capability gaps to include Full Motion Video (FMV), ISR, and exploitation tools. Specifically: -Conducts critical studies and operational demonstrations to develop and validate Naval UAS Family of Systems (FoS) Concepts of Operations that directly enhance warfighter capabilities and mission effectiveness. -Develops Naval Interoperability profiles that enable seamless integration across the Naval UAS Family of Systems, delivering critical unmanned capabilities to warfighters while reducing operational risk and accelerating capability delivery through shared resources and innovation. -Defines common, interoperable UAS standards for Department of Defense and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations, ensuring seamless coalition warfare capabilities and enhanced mission effectiveness across allied forces. -Provides targeting, weapons, sensor and payload employment capabilities with enhanced FMV exploitation tools and track data overlays, delivering actionable intelligence for improved situational awareness, faster decision-making, and enhanced operational effectiveness in contested environments. -Enhances warfighter capabilities by developing and delivering advanced Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) tools, improving data collection methods, and increasing intelligence gathering capacity through interoperable unmanned systems and standardized platforms.

Accomplishments / planned programs (R-2A) — prior, current and budget year only
Studies and Demonstrations▲ 5%
FY2025 actual$1.8M
FY2026 enacted$1.2M
FY2027 request$1.3M

FY2027 planned work Continue to develop UAS modeling and simulation for Fleet scenarios supporting the NUCF, demonstrating Manned/Unmanned Teaming and autonomous capabilities that deliver enhanced targeting, weapons, sensor and payload employment with FMV exploitation tools and track data overlays for improved situational awareness, faster decision-making, and operational effectiveness in contested environments.

FY2026 to FY2027 change The increase of $0.067M is due to rate adjustments.

FY2026 plans — current year Continue development of the UAS modeling and simulation of Fleet CONOPS scenarios in support of the Navy Unmanned Campaign Framework. Demonstrate Manned/Unmanned Teaming interoperability and UAS autonomous capabilities. Provide technical government engineering support.

Naval Interoperability & Standardization▲ 92%
FY2025 actual$1.6M
FY2026 enacted$1.0M
FY2027 request$1.9M

FY2027 planned work Continue to develop Unmanned Systems Naval Interoperability Profiles through systematic data collection and measurable goals to support approved Naval CONOPS, while advancing DoN, Joint Service, and NATO coalition standardization efforts that deliver real-time data, FMV exploitation tools, and increased situational awareness with seamless interoperability capabilities delivered to warfighters through comprehensive government engineering support and contract services.

FY2026 to FY2027 change The increase of $0.931M enhances FMV exploitation tools increasing warfighter effectiveness in increasingly contested operational environments supporting critical Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities that directly supports the national defense strategy. This increase is integral to support mission-essential services including UAS interoperability, Navy network upgrades, FMV exploitation analysis support delivery, and sensor/targeting coordination for operational units.

FY2026 plans — current year Continue to develop Unmanned Systems Naval Interoperability Profiles in support of approved Naval CONOPS. Support DoN, Joint Service and NATO coalition standardization and interoperability efforts. Provide government engineering support and contract services.

Congressional action

Congressional marks

Committee marks on the FY2027 request. Adds and cuts are reconciled in conference before they become law.

RequestPresident's Budget
$3.2M
House NDAA (HASC)HASC
$3.2M full · +$0
Senate NDAA (SASC)SASC
$3.2M full · +$0
House Approps (HAC-D)HAC_D
$3.2M full · +$0
unresolved as of 2026-07-27. These are FY2027 authorization marks (NDAA); appropriations and the conference agreement may differ.
Who's building it

Where the FY2027 request goes

Performers named in the R-3 exhibit, resolved into industry, government-lab, and unspecified shares. Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations.

DLA
$1.9M · 60%
Standards Development
NAWCAD
$1.3M · 40%
Studies & Demonstrations
Where FY2027 funding flowsShare$M
Industry primes100%3.2
FY2027 request100%3.2
See DLA's full federal contract ledger members
Program detail

Mission & acquisition strategy

The Naval Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) leads the development and delivery of technical solutions to enhance Naval capabilities through improved UAS interoperability by creating standardized interfaces, common command & control systems, and seamless integration with Navy networks and platforms. Further developing sensors, communications, and networking systems to achieve seamless UxS integration. Conducts rapid development efforts to address Fleet capability gaps to include Full Motion Video (FMV), ISR, and exploitation tools.

The department will leverage existing government facilities, resources, and engineering support while establishing strategic alliances with multiple Program Management Activities (PMAs), Systems Command (SYSCOMs), Type Commanders (TYCOMS), and Combatant Commands (COCOMs) to increase collaboration, share resources and talent, and develop common technical and interoperability standards for unmanned sensors, communications, networking capabilities, ISR and FMV exploitation tools.

Project 2467 — UxS Common Standards, Interoperability and Integration
  • Product Development
  • Support
  • Test and Evaluation
  • Management Services
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Answers are generated from the figures on this page — the FY2027 justification exhibits and the marks tracked above — and nothing else is consulted. Confirm any figure against the cited exhibit before you use it externally.

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Questions this page can answer
How does the FY2027 request compare with FY2026, and what does the five-year plan show?What did the FY2027 NDAA committees do to this request?How is the FY2027 request split between industry and government performers?In plain terms, what is this program element for and how is it being acquired?

This page carries the budget justification and the NDAA marks — nothing else. For what DLA has actually been obligated, the ledger is at hitchintel.com/vendors; for live solicitations, hitchintel.com/opportunities. Both are member surfaces.

Provenance

Cite this page

Sources
FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification · Exhibits R-2 / R-3 · PE 0603261N (President's Budget PB2027) — and FY2027 NDAA committee marks, as tracked 2026-07-27.
Suggested citation
HitchAI, "Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance (PE 0603261N)," federal budget intelligence, PB2027 vintage. hitchintel.com/programs/0603261N
Machine access
Markdown twin /programs/0603261N.md · MCP mcp.hitchintel.combudget_get_program_element, budget_get_cong_marks