What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 63670A of PE 0603601F. 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.
- Complete integration of hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, and other modeling and simulation technologies for the demonstration of open architecture, high-speed, networked, collaborative and autonomous, and modular munition concepts, breaking vendor lock with maturing weapon system open architecture standards. Activities include the development of hardware-in-the-loop / software-in-the-loop ecosystem for evaluation of modular affordable mass munitions. - Complete development of advanced, high-resolution infrared scene projectors, distributed simulation concepts, software-defined radio frequency test chamber, scene generation, mission, engagement, campaign level simulations, and panoramic infrared dome technologies, increasing fidelity of hardware-in-the-loop testing capabilities for evaluation of high-speed weapon concepts. Activities include the incorporation of maritime targets and environmental scenes for counter-maritime performance assessments. - Complete development of technologies for precision navigation of weapons in Global Positioning System (GPS)-denied scenarios, increasing fidelity of precision navigation for evaluation of high-speed weapon concepts. Activities include the development of multiple navigation tracking capabilities. - Continue improving multi-security level, cross-domain distributed modeling and simulation for munition research. Activities include enhancing communications and connectivity for munitions research across multiple geographic locations. - Complete integrating higher fidelity constructive analysis tools with engagement and mission level modeling and simulation, increasing fidelity of constructive analysis tools for evaluation of high-speed weapon concepts. - Complete design and development of a weapons digital ecosystem that enables digital engineering and the use of high-fidelity digital twinning across the weapons lifecycle, increasing fidelity of the digital ecosystem utilizing an agile software development process, model-based systems engineering, and weapon open systems architecture. - Resume maturing and integrating advanced weapon carriage, release concepts, and sub-systems, focusing on maturing and demonstrating missile component technologies to increase loadout. Activities include flight-weight carriage system release and environmental tests. - Commence increased engagement and mission level analyses for weapon concepts. Activities include conducting operational environment studies and warfighter weapons capability gap analysis. - Commence hypersonic weapon component design, weapon integration design and digital model development of alternative navigation technologies in GPS-denied environments for hypersonic weapon applications, maturing hypersonic weapon technologies for increased affordability, manufacturability and compatibility with open architecture standards. Activities include establishing contracts for design enhancements based on initial assessments. - Commence integrating higher fidelity constructive analysis tools with engagement and mission level modeling and simulation, increasing fidelity of constructive analysis tools for evaluation of swarming weapon concepts. Activities include modeling and simulation focused on the development/demonstration of collaborative weapons swarming. - Commence design and development of a weapons digital ecosystem that enables hardware-in-the-loop and software-in-the-loop to evaluate weapons component technology, increasing fidelity of the digital ecosystem utilizing an agile software development process, model-based systems engineering, and weapon open systems architecture. Activities include integration of simulation environments with modular architecture software, integration of data lake environment for weapon data with machine learning algorithms, and commencing software capability demonstration in a relevant environment. - Commence hypersonic weapon component design, weapon integration design and digital model development of seekers, seeker algorithms, radomes and apertures for hypersonic weapon applications, maturing hypersonic weapon technologies for increased affordability, manufacturability and compatibility with open architecture standards. Activities include establishing contracts for design enhancements based on initial assessments. - Commence technology risk reduction for high-speed and hypersonic weapons concepts, maturing and demonstrating propulsion and radome technologies. Activities include high-speed weapon concept propulsion system ground testing. - Commence maturing and integrating component technologies for subsonic weapon applications, maturing munitions technologies to increase operational effectiveness across a diverse target set. Activities include the performance assessment of a modular seeker within a hardware-in-the-loop/software-in-the-loop ecosystem for evaluation of modular affordable mass munitions. - Commence integration of hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, and other modeling and simulation technologies for the demonstration of open architecture, subsonic, networked, collaborative and autonomous, and modular munition concepts, breaking vendor lock with maturing weapon system open architecture standards. Activities include the development of hardware-in-the-loop / software-in-the-loop ecosystem for evaluation of modular affordable mass munitions. - Commence development of advanced, high-resolution infrared scene projectors, distributed simulation concepts, software-defined radio frequency test chamber, scene generation, mission, engagement, campaign level simulations, and panoramic infrared dome technologies, increasing fidelity of hardware-in-the-loop testing capabilities for evaluation of subsonic weapon concepts. Activities include the incorporation of maritime targets and environmental scenes for counter-maritime performance assessments.
FY 2027 increased compared to FY 2026 by $17.539 million for advanced technology development in supersonic/hypersonic guidance technology, counter-maritime guidance technology, and networked collaborative autonomous weapons and toolset integration supporting modular weapon systems evaluations. This increase reflects the urgent need to develop more affordable and easily producible components for supersonic/hypersonic munitions, munitions technologies optimized for maritime attack, and enabling a heterogeneous swarm of exquisite and affordable munitions.
FY2026: the year under way
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.
- Continue integration of hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, and other modeling and simulation technologies for the demonstration of open architecture, high-speed, networked, collaborative and autonomous, and modular munition concepts, breaking vendor lock with maturing weapon system open architecture standards. - Continue development of advanced, high-resolution infrared scene projectors, distributed simulation concepts, software-defined radio frequency test chamber, scene generation, mission, engagement, campaign level simulations, and panoramic infrared dome technologies, increasing fidelity of hardware-in-the-loop testing capabilities for evaluation of high-speed weapon concepts. - Continue developing technologies for precision navigation of weapons in Global Positioning System-denied scenarios, increasing fidelity of precision navigation for evaluation of high-speed weapon concepts. Activities include the development of multiple navigation tracking capabilities. - Continue improving multi-security level, cross-domain distributed modeling and simulation for munition research, enhancing communications and connectivity for munitions research across multiple geographic locations. - Continue integrating higher fidelity constructive analysis tools with engagement and mission level modeling and simulation, increasing fidelity of constructive analysis tools for evaluation of high-speed weapon concepts. Activities include continued development of modules and plug-ins for 6-degrees of freedom (6DOF) and Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM). - Continue design and development of a weapons digital ecosystem that enables digital engineering and the use of high-fidelity digital twinning across the weapons lifecycle, increasing fidelity of the digital ecosystem utilizing an agile software development process, model-based systems engineering, and weapon open systems architecture. - Stop maturing and integrating advanced weapon carriage, release concepts, and sub-systems, focusing on maturing and demonstrating missile component technologies to increase loadout. - Stop integrating higher-fidelity lethality models into guidance and control simulations to enhance weapon integrated performance.
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 | 35.3 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 28.5 |
| FY2027 | Request | 46.0 |
This activity is 35% of project 63670A's FY2027 request and 35% of PE 0603601F'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.
4 activities in project 63670A
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.