# Project DK5 — Conventional Artillery Modernization

**Program element:** 0603639A — Tank and Medium Caliber Ammunition  
**Project:** DK5  
**Component:** U.S. Army  
**Appropriation:** 2040 — RDT&E, Army  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603639A/DK5  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603639A

## Summary

Project DK5 — Conventional Artillery Modernization requests $27.2M in FY2027, 9.8% of the $277.2M requested for program element 0603639A, up 2256% on FY2026. 2 R-2A activities decompose the request. DoW Ordnance is the largest named R-3 performer at $15.1M, 55% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | Enacted | 1.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 27.2 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 28.2 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 18.3 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0603639A; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project DK5 buys

The 155 millimeter (mm) High Explosive Conventional Artillery Modernization will develop common artillery projectiles capable of accurate delivery of multiple payloads to provide US Army's Field Artillery units with lethal and nonlethal area effects at ranges necessary to disable and destroy a broad set of targets within multiple threat formations. The Modular Artillery for Combat Effectiveness (MACE) line of effort will develop lethal area effects. The Extended Range (ER) Cargo line of effort will develop lethal and non-lethal areas effects at the longer ranges necessary to enable transformation in contact. This effort is executing an evolutionary approach to ensure a common projectile can support multiple cargo capabilities, including but not limited to lethal, Radio Frequency (RF) obscuration, visible obscuration, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Infra-red (IR) illumination, visible illumination, electronic attack, Terrain Shaping Obstacles, and future cargo capabilities. Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 funding will support the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 demonstration, down-selection, contract award for system development, and technical assessment in support of the Army's Field Artillery modernization objectives.

**R-3 lines of work:** Management Services; Product Development; Support; Test and Evaluation.

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| DoW Ordnance | 15.1 | 55% |
| Office of the Project Manager (PM) Comba | 0.1 | 0.4% |

> Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations. Shares need not reach 100% — unnamed and government work is in the denominator.

## Activities (R-2A) — 2

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 155mm Modular Artillery for Combat Effectiveness (MACE) | — | 1.0 | 22.0 | +2100% | — |
| 155mm Extended Range (ER) Cargo | — | 0.2 | 5.2 | +3263% | — |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### 155mm Modular Artillery for Combat Effectiveness (MACE)

**FY2027 planned work.** FY 2027 funding will support technology maturation and munition development, while procuring test hardware to support lethal payload integration.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY 2027 funding increase is due to increase in test activities required to support initial integration and assessment of potential lethal payloads into cargo projectiles.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Vendors to provide deliverable(s) that develop technical feasibility, while supporting transition to preliminary design.

### 155mm Extended Range (ER) Cargo

**FY2027 planned work.** FY 2027 funding will support technology maturation and the development of range extension systems for cargo projectiles, while supporting the modeling and simulation of lethal and non lethal payloads to advance system development.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY 2027 funding increase is due to increase in test activities required to support initial integration and assessment of potential lethal payloads into cargo projectiles.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Vendors to provide deliverable(s) that develop technical feasibility through modeling and simulation, while supporting transition to preliminary design.

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603639A.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Army RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0603639A project DK5 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603639A")`.

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