What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 328 of PE 0603288D8Z. This is the budget justification's own description of work that has not happened yet — the one thing no other level of the budget carries.
Engineering and Technology Analysis: - Continue to conduct engineering- and physics-based threat assessments informed by IC reporting to identify gaps in U.S. capabilities. - Continue to conduct analysis of novel technology and concepts to address capability gaps and potential counters to emerging technologies in future operating environments. - Continue to conduct independent assessments of U.S. and strategic competitors’ critical capabilities and technology development. Operational and Technical Assessment: - Continue to update foundational data of U.S., ally and partner, and adversary capabilities to enable mission-oriented analysis of emerging threats. - Continue to assess anticipated U.S., ally and partner, and adversary capability solutions in the context of DoW-approved operational scenarios and associated timelines to illustrate areas of potential operational overmatch. - Continue to produce comparative assessments of existing and planned U.S. capabilities and weapons systems characterizing emerging threat systems and capabilities in future operating environments. - Continue to design and execute technology-based wargames to inform and align DoW modernization activities with joint concept and capability requirements and threat forecasting. Competitive Landscape Assessments: - Assess technological state-of-the art and trends to capture relative national standing for focal technologies. - Explore military operational implications to understand operational relevance, technology timeline, and uncertainties associated with the applications of the focal technologies. - Integrate key competitor perspectives through intelligence community engagement. - Continue to develop automated approaches for conducting net technical assessments in OUSW(R&E)-identified critical technical areas. “AI-First” Transformation: - In partnership with DTIC, JATOC in FY 2027 will lead the defense enterprise in exploiting the relevant data sets and common data lexicon developed in FY 2026. - Insights derived from this activity will continue to enable the Department to expedite the pace of transitioning technology to the warfighter while enabling the DoW to be more responsive to Congress.
FY2026 to FY2027 decrease is due to a non-recurring program adjustment for technology assessments in FY 2026 only
FY2025–FY2026: what came before
Prior-year accomplishments and current-year plans from the same exhibit. Context for the FY2027 plan, not a series — an activity partitions its project exactly in the request year, but can under-cover it in earlier years.
Engineering and Technology Analysis: - Continue to conduct engineering- and physics-based threat assessments informed by IC reporting to identify gaps in U.S. capabilities. - Continue to conduct analysis of novel technology and concepts to address capability gaps and potential counters to emerging technologies in future operating environments. - Continue to conduct independent assessments of U.S. and strategic competitors’ critical capabilities and technology development.
Engineering and Technology Analysis: - Continue to conduct engineering- and physics-based threat assessments informed by IC reporting to identify gaps in U.S. capabilities. - Continue to conduct analysis of novel technology and concepts to address capability gaps and potential counters to emerging technologies in future operating environments. - Continue to conduct independent assessments of U.S. and strategic competitors’ critical capabilities and technology development. Operational and Technical Assessment: - Continue to update foundational data of U.S., ally and partner, and adversary capabilities to enable mission-oriented analysis of emerging threats. - Continue to assess anticipated U.S., ally and partner, and adversary capability solutions in the context of DoD-approved operational scenarios and associated timelines to illustrate areas of potential operational overmatch. - Continue to produce comparative assessments of existing and planned U.S. capabilities and weapons systems characterizing emerging threat systems and capabilities in future operating environments. - Continue to design and execute technology-based wargames to inform and align DoD modernization activities with joint concept and capability requirements and threat forecasting. Net Technical Assessments: - Assess technological state-of-the art and trends to capture relative national standing for focal technologies. - Explore military operational implications to understand operational relevance, technology timeline, and uncertainties associated with the applications of the focal technologies. - Integrate key competitor perspectives through intelligence community engagement
Three years, and no five-year plan
An R-2A activity publishes the prior year, the current year and the budget year. The FYDP outyears exist at project and program-element level and are deliberately absent here rather than inferred. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 18.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 33.1 |
| FY2027 | Request | 28.3 |
This activity is 100% of project 328's FY2027 request and 77% of PE 0603288D8Z's. In the request year the activities under a project sum to it exactly; in the current year they under-cover it in about 9% of cases, so an activity's delta can legitimately exceed its parent's and the two must not be compared row to row.
1 activity in project 328
Every R-2A line of this project, largest FY2027 request first. Linked where the activity has enough of its own narrative to carry a page; the rest are shown in full on the project page.