# Combat Service Support (CSS) and Force Protection

**R-2A activity** of project 2297 — Futures Directorate  
**Program element:** 0603640M — MC Advanced Technology Demo  
**Component:** U.S. Navy · **Budget Activity:** 3  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297/a0  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297

## Summary

This activity requests $43.9M in FY2027, 26% of project 2297, up 24% 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.** Unmanned Logistics and Defense: - Continue development and experimentation with highly autonomous and synchronous logistics capabilities. Focus areas include development, testing, and experimentation with a semi-submersible craft designed to support a payload of 8 to 10 tons. - Continue to assess execution of high tempo unmanned sustainment to dispersed and disaggregated forces during joint combined air-ground operations in contested environments. Sustainment: - Continue to sustain and investigate multiple technologies integrated within the MAGTF to experiment with alternate vehicle power, extended mobility, and expeditionary fuel distribution to enable logistics demand reduction and provide alternate sustainment to the MAGTF at all levels. Focus areas include providing a logistics over-the-shore (LOTS) capability tailored to agile, low-signature, minimally manned logistics operations in austere environments. - Complete investigations into atmospheric water generation. Counter Unmanned Aerial System (CUAS): - Continue comprehensive experimentation plan to successfully execute an end-to-end kill-web for developed CUAS capabilities. Focus area includes an integrated Detect-Defeat-Destroy CUAS network that provides threat data to the lowest echelon to increase reaction time and survivability. Explosive Detection/Defeat: - Continue explorations into alternative explosive detection and defeat capabilities. Medical: - Continue to experiment with systems to support a smaller, modular, multi-functional medical concept. Focus area includes conducting large-scale experiments on providing prolonged care for multiple casualties during transport. Warfighter Performance: - Continue to provide increased lethality and mobility to the warfighter through the integration of technology directly attributable to individual combat equipment. Focus area includes providing a battalion and below communications architecture that enables position location information (PLI) tracking, down to the Fire Team level and digital targeting, directly linking sensors to shooters. - Continue to develop, test, assess, and experiment with a RAID Plate. - Continue development of common user interface and fully integrated PACE plan for dismounted troops. Littoral Connectors: - Continue development and enhancement of capabilities for diversified distribution, providing risk worthy, inexpensive platforms for maneuver and sustainment distribution. Focus areas include limited technical assessments and experimentation with a heavy shore-to-shore roll-on/roll-off stern-landing beach landing vessel. - Continue assessments, evaluations, and experimentation with the Navy and Fleet Marine Forces to inform future naval surface vessel requirements, develop TTPs, and refine DMO/EABO CONOPS. Focus areas include limited technical assessments and experimentation with a shore-to-shore roll-on/roll-off bow-landing craft. - Continue assessments, evaluations, and experimentation with small boats to augment littoral maneuver capability. Robotic Modernization: - Continue to provide ground combat element robotic asset maintenance, repair, and upgrades; ensuring systems viability for experimentation and user evaluation. Camouflage, Concealment, and Detection (CC&D): - Continue development (to include investigations into and experimentation) with CC&D capabilities. Integrated Air and Missile Defense: - Continue development of passive and active methods to detect, track, and identify air threats.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** The funding increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is attributed to the re-vitalization of Littoral Connector efforts, specifically related to assessments, evaluations, and experimentation with a shore-to-shore roll-on/roll-off bow-landing craft.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Unmanned Logistics and Defense: - Continue development and experimentation with highly autonomous and synchronous logistics capabilities. - Continue to assess execution of high tempo unmanned sustainment to dispersed and disaggregated forces during joint combined air-ground operations in contested environments. Sustainment: - Complete demonstrations with naval logistics information technology integration with low earth orbit and military satellite networks. - Complete research, design, and build of a littoral maneuver enabler prototype. - Complete sustainment and investigations into selected technologies integrated within the MAGTF to experiment with hybrid energy and small unit water purification. - Continue to sustain and investigate multiple technologies integrated within the MAGTF to experiment with alternate vehicle power, extended mobility, and expeditionary fuel distribution to enable logistics demand reduction and provide alternate sustainment to the MAGTF at all levels. - Initiate investigations into atmospheric water generation; a process that extracts water from humid ambient air, producing potable water. Counter Unmanned Aerial System (CUAS): - Continue a comprehensive experimentation plan to successfully execute an end-to-end kill chain for developed CUAS capabilities. Focus area includes dismount-capable CUAS architecture to provide force protection and friend-from-foe identification model-building development efforts. Explosive Detection/Defeat: - Complete development of an autonomous explosive detection and defeat capability; integrating specialized sensors for enhanced neutralization. - Complete spiral technology development to produce a mobile explosive hazard in-depth defense. - Initiate explorations into alternative explosive detection and defeat capabilities, focusing efforts on the surf-zone. Medical: - Continue to experiment with systems to support a smaller, modular, multifunctional medical concept that can support medical care ashore and within MLRs by performing studies, integration with unmanned systems, demonstrations, and experimentation. Focus area includes providing prolonged care for multiple casualties while enroute. Warfighter Performance: - Continue to provide increased lethality and mobility to the warfighter through the integration of technology directly attributable to individual combat equipment. Focus area includes development of an advanced situational awareness sensor network to aid in digital kill-web acquisitions. - Continue to develop, test, assess, and experiment with a Radio Agile Integrated Device (RAID) Plate; a single operator-worn device that facilitates simultaneous control of unmanned ground, air, and surface platforms. - Continue development of common user interface and fully integrated Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency (PACE) plan for dismounted troops. Littoral Connectors: - Continue development and enhancement of capabilities for diversified distribution, providing risk worthy, inexpensive platforms for maneuver and sustainment distribution. Utilize current commercial technology to enhance maneuver to and from seabases and expeditionary advanced bases in the littorals with the ability to deliver directly to the users at shore. Focus areas include undergoing detailed engineering design as well as conducting limited technical assessments (LTAs), Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT), and experimentation. - Continue assessments, evaluations, and experimentation with the Navy and Fleet Marine Forces to inform future naval surface vessel requirements, develop TTPs, and refine Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO)/Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concept of operations (CONOPS), pertaining to Force Design 2030 and the activation of MLR units. - Continue assessments, evaluations, and experimentation with small boats to augment littoral maneuver capability in support of Force Design 2030. Robotic Modernization: - Continue to provide ground combat element robotic asset maintenance, repair, and upgrades; ultimately ensuring systems viability for experimentation and user evaluation. Camouflage, Concealment, and Detection (CC&D): - Continue the development of CC&D capabilities. Integrated Air and Missile Defense: - Continue development of passive and active methods to detect, track, and identify air threats.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 47.8 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 35.3 |
| FY2027 | Request | 43.9 |

> 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 2297

- [Warfighting Excellence](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297/a5) — FY2027 57.8
- [Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297/a3) — FY2027 28.8
- [Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory / Futures Directorate (MCWL/FD) Technical, Engineering, and Management Support](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297/a4) — FY2027 23.9
- Fires, Targeting, and Maneuver — FY2027 6.4
- Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (C4) — FY2027 5.4

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0603640M project 2297 (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.*