# Advanced Weapons Technology — Program Element 0603605F

**Program element:** 0603605F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 3 — Advanced Technology Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603605F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force funding falls 18% to a $13.7M request in FY2027, sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators added 417% (to $71.0M).

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 27.2 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 16.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 13.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 14.6 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 19.4 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 20.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 20.8 |

> 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 | 13.7 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 13.7 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 13.7 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 71.0 | +57.3 |

> 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 633151 | Directed Energy Technology Development | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.7 | new start |
| 633152 | High Power Microwave Development and Integration | 27.2 | 16.8 | 0.0 | −100% |

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

### Project 633151 — Directed Energy Technology Development

This Project develops and demonstrates integrated, state of the art, high energy laser (HEL) weapon demonstrator systems to satisfy Department of the Air Force requirements in areas including, counter unmanned aerial systems (c-UAS), counter intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance (c-ISR), and counter missiles (c-Missile) for High Value Airborne Asset (HVAA) protection and point defense. In addition, this Project develops and demonstrates high power microwave and other unconventional electromagnetic field generation and transmission technologies that can be integrated into future weapon systems to support a wide range of the Department of the Air Force missions such as air base defense or the damage/destruction of an adversary's electronic infrastructure. It also provides inputs to the susceptibility, vulnerability, and lethality databases used across the Department of War to understand thresholds for scalable effects of directed energy weapons. Technologies developed under Program Element 0602605F / Directed Energy Technology feed directly into this Project.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Energy Laser/Beam Control | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| High Power Microwave Technologies | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.3 |

> 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 633152 — High Power Microwave Development and Integration

This project develops and demonstrates high power microwave and other unconventional electromagnetic field generation and transmission technologies that can be integrated into future weapon systems to support a wide range of the Department of the Air Force missions such as air base defense or the damage/destruction of an adversary's electronic infrastructure. It also provides inputs to the susceptibility, vulnerability, and lethality databases used across the Department of War to understand thresholds for scalable effects of directed energy weapons.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Power Microwave Technologies | 27.2 | 4.4 | 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.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

This research is accomplished by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). AFRL is focused on high-impact, multi-domain science & technology (S&T) solutions that drive innovation now while laying the groundwork for the Air and Space Force to win the future fight. AFRL effectively synchronizes the Department of the Air Force (DAF) S&T enterprise and workforce to align towards the most consequential DAF priorities and accelerate the delivery of game-changing S&T. AFRL is focused on high-impact, multi-domain S&T solutions that drive innovation now while laying the groundwork for the Air and Space Force to win the future fight.

## Related program elements

- [0603788F — Battlespace Knowledge Development and Demonstration](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603788F) (Air Force)
- [0602204F — Aerospace Sensors](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602204F) (Air Force)
- [0205401JCA — Counter - Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0205401JCA) (Defense-Wide)
- [0604216N — Multi-Mission Helicopter Upgrade Dev](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604216N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0603605F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603605F")`.

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