# Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)

**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/a3  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297

## Summary

This activity requests $28.8M in FY2027, 17% of project 2297, up 107% 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 Aerial Systems (UASs): - Continue to explore, expand mission sets, and exploit the tactical potential of small UASs across multiple Marine Corps domains. Focus areas include lethality development. - Continue to explore Group 2 fixed wing and VTOL payload development. - Continue efforts to provide a highly automated/autonomously operated cargo drone that supports organic resupply via an aerial cargo vehicle. - Continue specialized payload development for Group 2 and 3 UAS organic to tactical units for extended endurance, increased lethality, and developmental testing. Focus areas include platform development and integration of UAS sub-systems into a FITC to close kill chains across the Coalition, Joint and Naval Kill Webs. Efforts will provide full end-to-end integration and flight demonstration of objective Group 3 ISR capability to inform Organic Group 3 ISR requirements. Robotic Autonomous Command and Control (C2): - Re-initiate investigations into providing a de-centralized multi-unmanned system (UxS) (air, ground, surface) manager, enabling UxSs to act collaboratively within and across domains and team with manned operations. Focus areas include integration of multi-function payloads as well as gear development. - Initiate development of an autonomous turret for a ground vehicle that will use AI object detection/recognition software and weapons engagement algorithms. Efforts include generator integration, field ranger testing, Weapon Systems Explosive Safety Review Board (WSESRB) approval, and payload development. Fused Integrated Networking: - Continue development and experimentation using an aerial communications gateway platform. Information Operations: - Continue to develop and enhance capabilities to increase situational awareness and influence decision making. Focus areas include providing a dynamic, modular, AI-powered joint targeting system and battle management command and control (C2) system designed to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in military operations by streamlining decision-making and resource allocation across the kill-chain in high-intensity conflicts. - Continue to investigate technologies and experimentation opportunities to support the operational utility of artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms. Artificial Intelligence (AI): - Continue to leverage joint Component investments to provide/promote AI support/use for MCWL concept-based experimentation. Space: - Continue to develop capabilities to conduct electronic warfare in support of MAGTF operations. - Continue the construct and experimentation of integrated targeting cells. - Continue FITC development to enhance the tactical-national interfaces that can support the over-the-horizon awareness, identification, and targeting in stressing environments. Prototypes will demonstrate tactical and resilient networking and processing capabilities that can work with national, commercial, and in-theater tactical feeds to increase capabilities operating at the tactical edge. - Continue investigations, demonstrations, and experimentation of proliferated LEO communications as well as support the integration of C2 architectures onto multiple expeditionary platforms. - Continue the development of transit-cased variant of FITC capabilities. - Complete investigations to search and receive messages transmitted outside standard frequency assignments and forward to deployed forces within the EABO construct. - Complete developmental efforts to support redundant command and control in contested and degraded environments. - Initiate development of a resilient, high-bandwidth communication system that leverages laser-based free-space optical links to ensure reliable connectivity in denied, degraded, intermittent, or limited (DDIL) environments.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** The funding increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is mainly attributable to increased investments in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) development and integration and Space related developmental efforts.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs): - Complete testing and demonstrating a heavy fuel engine to expand Department of the Navy (DoN) organic ship-board operations. - Continue to explore, expand mission sets, and exploit the tactical potential of small UASs across multiple Marine Corps domains. - Continue to explore Group 2 fixed wing and vertical take-off-and-landing (VTOL) payload development. - Continue efforts to provide a highly automated/autonomously operated cargo drone that supports organic resupply via an aerial cargo vehicle. - Continue specialized payload development for Group 2 and 3 UAS organic to tactical units for extended endurance, increased lethality, and developmental testing. Focus on the development and testing of payload/sensor combinations optimized for maritime ISR and target acquisition. In addition, evaluate ISR capabilities at relevant distances. Robotic Autonomous Command and Control (C2): - Complete investigation and experimentation with enabling technologies combining sensor and telemetry data from multiple unmanned platforms. Fused Integrated Networking: - Continue development and experimentation using an aerial communications gateway platform. Focus on extending and closing kill-webs for distributed units and enabling resilient communications in spectrum contested/denied environments. Information Operations: - Continue to develop and enhance capabilities to increase situational awareness and influence decision making. - Continue to investigate technologies and experimentation opportunities to support the operational utility of artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms. Artificial Intelligence (AI): - Continue to leverage joint Component investments to provide/promote AI support/use for MCWL concept-based experimentation, specifically investigating a dynamic, modular, AI-powered joint targeting systems designed to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of military operations. Space: - Continue to develop capabilities to conduct electronic warfare in support of MAGTF operations. - Continue the construct and experimentation of integrated targeting cells. - Continue investigations to search and receive messages transmitted outside standard frequency assignments and forward to deployed forces within the Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) construct. - Continue Family of Integrated Targeting Cells (FITC) development. - Continue developmental efforts to support redundant command and control in contested and degraded environments. - Continue investigations, demonstrations, and experimentation of proliferated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications as well as support the integration of C2 architectures onto multiple expeditionary platforms. - Initiate the development of transit-cased variant of FITC capabilities. Intelligence Community Directive 705 (ICD-705): - Complete experimentation of temporary ICD-705 solutions to support the forward edge in the convergence of operations and intelligence across multiple levels of classification in support of the FITC.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 16.5 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 13.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 28.8 |

> 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
- [Combat Service Support (CSS) and Force Protection](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297/a0) — FY2027 43.9
- [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.*