# Littoral Combat Ship — Program Element 0603581N

**Program element:** 0603581N  
**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/0603581N

## Summary

U.S. Navy funding ramps 23% to a $12.6M request in FY2027 — the program's peak. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House cut 40% (to $7.6M); the Senate added 180% (to $35.2M); House appropriators funded it in full. LM leads the industry work, though an unusually large share flows to government labs and warfare centers.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 9.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 10.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 12.6 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 11.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 9.2 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 9.2 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 9.4 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 12.6 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 7.6 | −5.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 35.2 | +22.6 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 12.6 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3096 | Littoral Combat Ship | 8.0 | 10.2 | 12.6 | +23% |
| 4506 | LCS Training | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 3096 — Littoral Combat Ship

Initial design and development efforts required to field LCS Class Ships with contractor furnished equipment is complete and tasking is removed from this section. This budget provides funds for the design, development, engineering, implementation, and testing of the combat system modifications for Lethality and Survivability (L&S) for both LCS variants (Independence and Freedom). The L&S upgrades include the development of a common Combat Management System (CMS) the Atalanta Weapon System (AtWS) and integration and testing of government furnished systems including the Gun Weapon System (GWS), Electronic Warfare (EW) system, and Decoy Launching System (DLS), and Navigation systems for the LCS Independence Class Variant ships. LCS CMS integration with Over The Horizon (OTH) targeting enable LCS to take advantage of full range capability of Naval Strike Missile (NSM). Follow on AtWS software (SW) development will incorporate corrections based on observations during shipboard testing and incremental capability increases to L&S ships.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** LM (5.1, 41%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCS Lethality and Survivability | 8.0 | 10.2 | 12.6 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

### Project 4506 — LCS Training

As a minimally-manned ship, the LCS uses a Train-to-Qualify (T2Q)/TYCOM Certification Training process in an off-ship/shore-based virtual ship trainer environment. These simulators and blended training solutions focus on tactical, equipment operations, and maintenance training. When completely developed and procured, the LCS shore-based training capability will satisfy individual, team, unit, and force training, with an objective of meeting Capability Development Document (CDD) T2Q/TYCOM Certification Training Key Performance Parameter (KPP) requirements. Funding will develop upgrades of the Surface Training Advanced Virtual Environment (STAVE) courseware and associated simulators to achieve the training objectives. Additionally, after fielding more of the systems and courseware, out-year funding will be utilized to upgrade training to maintain conformity with LCS configurations and approved operational technical manuals and procedures, as well as test and evaluate training devices to verify compliance with requirements.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCS Total System Training Architecture | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 41% | 5.1 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 55% | 7.0 |
| Other / unspecified | 4.1% | 0.5 |

**Top named industry performers:** LM ($5.1M, 41%).

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program Element (PE) provides funds for detailed design, development, construction, issue resolution, certification, integration, and testing of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). LCS operates with focused-Mission Packages that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles to execute a variety of missions, including, Surface Warfare (SUW) and Mine Countermeasures (MCM).

The LCS program takes an evolutionary approach to acquisition that emphasizes competition as a key to achieving affordability. Initially, two industry teams competed against each other with two distinctly different LCS designs. The decision produced two flights with a vessel from each design: Flight 0 (LCS 1 and LCS 2); and Flight 0+ (LCS 3 and out). The Flight 0+ baseline incorporates lessons learned from the design, construction, and testing of the Flight 0 ships.

## Related program elements

- [0603596N — LCS Mission Modules](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603596N) (Navy)
- [0603635M — Marine Corps Grnd Cmbt/Supt Sys](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603635M) (Navy)
- [1206761SF — Protected Tactical Service (PTS)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206761SF) (Space Force)
- [0208088F — AF Defensive Cyberspace Operations](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0208088F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0603581N (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603581N")`.

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