# Warfighting Excellence

**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/a5  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603640M/2297

## Summary

This activity requests $57.8M in FY2027, 35% of project 2297, up 175% 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.** Wargaming: - Continue to sustain the WarNet stand-alone network to maintain the ability to conduct classified wargames "on the road". - Complete transition of principal wargaming functions to the sponsorship of the Marine Corps' Robert B. Neller Center for Wargaming and Analysis. This includes overall wargaming planning, coordination, execution, analysis, and reporting functions. - Initiate accelerated integration of Joint-Force software, to execute next-generation wargaming and modeling and simulation in the Marine Corps' Wargaming and Analysis Center. Emerging Threats and Opportunities: - Continue to assess and analyze the future security environment; identify and analyze emerging threats; and develop and appraise promising concepts, opportunities and technologies. - Continue to provide a full spectrum of broad-based technological and analytical support for Marine Corps combat development and experimentation programs. This includes provisioning appropriate subject matter expertise to address specific issues of concern. Joint Concept Technology Demonstrations (JCTDs): - Continue to monitor and contribute to approved efforts that address joint and combatant command warfighting needs through the execution and demonstration of near-term prototypes. - Continue explorations into joint efforts that supplement force design initiatives. - Continue explorations into a unique prototype USV that does not have the traditional structure above the waterline. - Initiate efforts to deliver expeditionary logistics in a contested and Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) operational environment. Existing logistics pathways are static, large, require large numbers of human resources, transmit critical logistics capabilities to the adversary, and are susceptible to disruption through adversary action. This capability will allow the traverse of offloaded supplies across the waterline and off the beach without requiring vehicle recovery and/or beach reset operations. Exercise Support: - Continue multi-year effort to enhance the ability of the MAGTF. - Continue MLR experimentation efforts. - Initiate experimentation focused on mobile maritime reconnaissance activities. Focus areas include enhancing maritime domain awareness, facilitating the application of joint fires, and providing tactical-level capability to maneuver teams across challenging open water gaps. Innovation: - Transition Virtual Stand-in-Force developments. - Continue to conduct and refine warfighter driven challenges to develop/identify prototypes and foster innovation within the Marine Corps. Focus areas include enabling distributed experimentation, wargaming, and analysis while providing a real-time feedback and human in-the-loop interaction with Program of Record (POR) combat systems. - Continue to reach out to the fleet in a collaborative effort to analyze future capabilities and provide capability development data. Efforts include live, virtual, constructive experimentation. - Initiate enhancements to oversight, processes, and functional integration to strengthen management and decision-making capabilities. These efforts, both directly and indirectly, facilitate and support experimentation and innovation. Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis (MS&A): - MS&A Continue to investigate/use emerging M&S tools and techniques. Continue to provide analytical modeling and data-driven, evidence-based assessments. - Continue to provide M&S of naval operations, focusing on the Pacific Theater. - Continue to provide independent, unique, and comprehensive analytical expertise to facilitate and evaluate experiments in various warfighting areas. - Complete specialized Marine Corps operational concept development and delivery of Strategic Analysis products. Experimentation Opposition Force: - Continue to explore strategic-level red-cell force considerations. Information Fusion Center (IFC): - Continue to provide a consolidated and collaborative environment at all classification levels. Efforts augment overall Marine Corps effectiveness as well as MCWL's experimentation objectives.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** The funding increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is directly attributable to the accelerated integration of Joint-Force software at the Marine Corps Wargaming and Analysis Center, enabling the execution of next-generation wargaming that is driven by and directly accountable to our unique operational requirements. the resulting analytical capabilities will directly inform our Force Design imperatives and provide the rigorous, data-backed insights necessary to maintain a decisive warfighting advantage.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Wargaming: - Transition planning, coordination, and execution of specified wargames. Efforts include formal reporting of analytical and assessment results which may lead to identification of wargame results for further exploration through modeling and simulation (M&S), live-force experimentation, doctrine and/or policy review, science and technology examination, and studies. - Continue to sustain the WarNet stand-alone network. This provides the ability to conduct classified wargames "on the road", outside of the Marine Corps' Robert B. Neller Center for Wargaming and Analysis, until such time as the Neller Center reaches Full Operational Capability and can sustain this functionality. Emerging Threats and Opportunities: - Continue to assess and analyze the future security environment; identify and analyze emerging threats; and develop and appraise promising concepts, opportunities and technologies. Support will include research and development of innovative operational and organizational concepts and approaches that emphasize flexible, expeditionary capabilities across a broad spectrum of possible employment options. - Continue to provide a full spectrum of broad-based technological and analytical support for the Marine Corps combat development and experimentation programs at the component, Service, and Joint levels. Joint Concept Technology Demonstrations (JCTDs): - Complete development of a net-enabled, cost effective, long-range precision munition employed from rotary wing aircraft in expeditionary and maritime environments. - Continue to monitor and contribute to approved efforts that address joint and combatant command warfighting needs through the execution and demonstration of near-term prototypes. - Continue explorations into joint efforts that supplement force design initiatives. - Initiate explorations into a unique prototype unmanned surface vehicle (USV) that does not have the traditional structure above the waterline, leaving room for alternative configurations and could be used for logistics in a contested environment. Exercise Support: - Continue multi-year effort to enhance the ability of the MAGTF. Focus area includes employment of concepts and integration of material solutions/capabilities. - Continue Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) experimentation efforts. Focus areas include evaluation of the joint force capability to converge effects against a peer adversary. Innovation: - Continue to develop/conduct/refine warfighter driven challenges to develop/identify prototypes and foster innovation within the Marine Corps. Focus areas include Virtual Stand-in-Force explorations; small, lethal forces with the ability to move quickly, communicate securely, and stay hidden from the enemy as well as networking capabilities to allow for secure secret transmissions during experimentation. - Continue to reach out to the fleet in a collaborative effort to analyze future capabilities and provide capability development data. Integrate emergent technologies into experimental venues to assess feasibility. Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis: - Continue to investigate/use emerging M&S tools and techniques. Continue to provide analytical modeling and data-driven, evidence-based assessments. Continue to develop Marine Corps operating concepts and deliver Strategic Analysis products in order to guide force development activities. - Continue to provide M&S of naval operations, focusing on the Pacific Theater. - Continue to provide independent, unique, and comprehensive analytical expertise to facilitate and evaluate experiments in various warfighting areas. Experimentation Opposition Force: - Continue to demonstrate the abilities of a live adversary force, focusing on strategic-level red-cell force considerations. Information Fusion Center (IFC): - Continue to provide a consolidated and collaborative environment, allowing the Marine Corps to successfully initiate, inform, and develop key capabilities at all classification levels.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 32.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 21.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 57.8 |

> 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

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