# Artificial Intelligence (AI) Reinforcements (AIR)

**R-2A activity** of project ACX-01 — ADVANCED COMPLEX SYSTEMS  
**Program element:** 0603468E — Advanced Complex Systems  
**Component:** Defense-Wide · **Budget Activity:** 3  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01/a4  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01

## Summary

This activity requests $32.2M in FY2027, 6.4% of project ACX-01, down 38% 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.** - Expand operational testing into increasingly complex and contested environments, including electronic warfare scenarios, to rigorously evaluate system robustness and adaptability. - Advance multi-platform collaboration by integrating heterogeneous teams, such as manned-unmanned formations, to assess the scalability of the autonomous teaming capabilities. - Maintain compatibility with other related combat autonomy efforts, enabling rapid integration and testing of new capabilities within the operational framework.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** The FY 2027 decrease reflects the shift from scaling to live flight to concentrated focus on solutions that demonstrated the strongest technical performance and operational promise.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Initiate incorporation of F-16 aircraft into the AIR integration and testing pipeline and iterate development through testing. - Scale the AI-driven autonomy to four-ship operations with increased complexity. - Improve speed and predictivity of model development. - Incorporate dissimilar capabilities, non-stationaries, and deceptive environments to the multi-agent AI training. - Quantify the robustness of AI agent performance by rigorously evaluating its response to realistic operational uncertainties, such as sensor degradation and communication loss, and validate its effectiveness in critical mission scenarios like Offensive and Defensive Counter Air (OCA/DCA).

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | Enacted | 51.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 32.2 |

> 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 ACX-01

- [Longshot](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01/a1) — FY2027 151.5
- [Advanced Complex Systems Studies and Concepts](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01/a11) — FY2027 62.3
- [SPeed and Runway INdependent Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane Demonstration Project](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01/a2) — FY2027 62.1
- [Scaled Hypersonics Studies and Concepts](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01/a10) — FY2027 56.0
- [Otter](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01/a3) — FY2027 47.7
- Valley Forge — FY2027 37.1
- More Opportunities with HAWC (MoHAWC) — FY2027 20.0
- [Process Intensified Energetics (PIE)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603468E/ACX-01/a7) — FY2027 13.0
- Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter (LASSO) — FY2027 8.9
- Rubble to Rockets (R2) — FY2027 7.5
- Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) — FY2027 1.7
- DARPA Lift Challenge — FY2027 —
- Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) — FY2027 —

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0603468E project ACX-01 (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.*