# 12) Operational Chemical Sensing - Chemical Detection

**R-2A activity** of project UN3 — Understand (ATD)  
**Program element:** 0603384BP — Chemical and Biological Defense Program - Advanced Development  
**Component:** Defense-Wide · **Budget Activity:** 3  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/UN3/a11  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/UN3

## Summary

This activity requests $16.9M in FY2027, 18% of project UN3, up 488% on FY2026. The R-2A exhibit describes it across FY2025–FY2027, including what the FY2027 money is planned to buy.

## What the FY2027 request buys

**FY2027 planned work.** - Demonstrate aerosol microsensor for long-range chemical detection that maximizes early warning for maximized decision making lead time for response. - Demonstrate and transition low-burden chemical agent vapor detection technology to inform donning and doffing decisions for individual protection.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Program/project funding transferred from another funding line. Increase due funding transfer from project UN2 applied research to project UN3 advanced applied research for accelerated prototype field demonstrations, user feedback collection and data analysis, and technology optimization.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Continue development toward a deployable microsensor development pipeline for improved size, weight, and power chemical and biological (CB) sensor prototypes. - Continue integration of mature chemical threat sensing and sampling system prototypes onto unmanned and manned platforms and perform test assessments. - Continue efforts to modernize detection prototypes to reduce false alarms and increase sensitivity and specificity. - Transition low size, weight, and power hyperspectral imaging technologies for the remote detection, identification, and quantification of chemical vapors. - Transition ballistic gas chromatography technology for air monitoring of chemical threats and verification of sensitive equipment decontamination. - Initiate development of new chemical sensors based on quantum metrology.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Continued development toward a deployable microsensor development pipeline for improved size, weight, and power chemical sensor prototypes. - Began integration of mature chemical threat sensing prototypes onto unmanned and manned platforms and perform test assessments. - Continued efforts to reduce false alarms and increase sensitivity and specificity for chemical detection sensor prototypes for increased decision making confidence.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 2.8 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 2.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 16.9 |

> 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 UN3

- [7) Operational Diagnostics](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/UN3/a6) — FY2027 13.1
- [3) Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Situational Awareness](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/UN3/a2) — FY2027 12.9
- 9) Diagnostic Building Blocks — FY2027 7.8
- 11) Emerging and Enhanced Biothreat Sensing - Waste Water Surveillance — FY2027 7.5
- 13) Modernized and Enhanced Chemical Sensing - Chemical Detection — FY2027 7.5
- 2) Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Decision Aids — FY2027 7.3
- 16) Emerging and Enhanced Biothreat Sensing - Biological Detection — FY2027 7.1
- 1) Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Battlespace Sensing, Alerting, and Response — FY2027 5.8
- 10) Emerging Threats — FY2027 1.9
- 15) Operational Biological Sensing - Biological Detection — FY2027 1.5
- 14) Unconventional Detection Modalities - Chemical Detection — FY2027 1.0
- 8) Clinical Evaluation — FY2027 1.0
- 4) Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Battlespace Sensing, Alerting, and Response - Enhanced Biological Defense — FY2027 0.8
- 6) Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Situational Awareness - Enhanced Biological Defense — FY2027 0.8
- 5) Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Decision Aids - Enhanced Biological Defense — FY2027 0.5
- 17) Unconventional Detection Modalities - Biological Detection — FY2027 —

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0603384BP project UN3 (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.*