RDT&E Program Element · President's Budget PB2027

Nato Coop R&D

PE 0603790F·U.S. Air Force·Approp. 3600 — RDT&E·BA4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes
FY2027 Request
$2.3M
Air Force · RDT&E
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U.S. Air Force funding falls 49% to a $2.3M request in FY2027 (down from a FY2026 peak), 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 funded it in full.

FY2027 Request
$2.3M
▼ 49% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$4.5M
▲ 105% vs FY2025
FY2025 Actual
$2.2M
Prior year

For fiscal year 2027, the U.S. Air Force is requesting $2.3M for Nato Coop R&D under RDT&E program element 0603790F, down 49% from FY2026.

Funding trajectory

Funding profile, FY2025–FY2031

Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.

02.2FY25ACTUAL4.5FY26ENACTED2.3FY27REQUEST2.5FY282.6FY292.7FY302.8FY31
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
Fiscal YearEstimate TypeAmount ($M)
FY2025Actual2.2
FY2026Enacted4.5
FY2027Request2.3
FY2028Outyear2.5
FY2029Outyear2.6
FY2030Outyear2.7
FY2031Outyear2.8
Where it sits

Acquisition lifecycle

This program is funded in RDT&E Budget Activity 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes.

Complete
Research
BA 1–2
Complete
Advanced Technology
BA 3
Current
Prototyping
BA 4
Later
Development & Fielding
BA 5–7
Inside the program element

1 project rolls up into PE 0603790F

Projects are the summable leaves — the PE total is their sum, never added to it. Program elements and projects carry the full five-year plan; activities stop at the budget year. This PE moves -49% overall, which can hide much larger swings below.

Project 64NATO

Nato Coop R&D

$2.3MFY2027 request ▼ 49%
FY2025 actual$2.2M
FY2026 enacted$4.5M
FY2027 request$2.3M
SupportTest and Evaluation

Funds are used for air, space, and cyber international cooperative research, and development (ICR&D) agreements with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states, major non-NATO allies and friendly foreign countries. Each of the approved ICR&D projects are required to have a concluded international agreement (IA), prior to funds being released, that implements the provisions of Title 10 U.S. Code, Section 2350a. This legislation (Title 10 U.S. Code, Section 2350a) authorizes funds to significantly improve U.S. and allied conventional defense capabilities by leveraging the best defense technologies, eliminating costly duplication of research and development (R&D) efforts, accelerating the availability of defense systems, and promoting the United States of America and allied interoperability or commonality. These funds will not be used for government civilian salaries, permanent construction, or spent overseas. This program element funds the implementation of DAF ICR&D agreements in 1) Basic Research, 2) Applied Research, 3) Advanced Technology Development, 4) Advanced Component Development and Prototypes, 5) System Development, and 6) RDT&E Management Support. This effort is in Budget Activity 4, Advanced Component Development and Prototypes (ACD&P), because efforts are necessary to evaluate integrated technologies, representative modes or prototype systems in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment.

Accomplishments / planned programs (R-2A) — prior, current and budget year only
International Cooperative Research and Development▼ 49%
FY2025 actual$2.2M
FY2026 enacted$4.5M
FY2027 request$2.3M

FY2027 planned work Continue FY2026 activities and initiate FY 2027 International Cooperative Research and Development (ICR&D) projects focused on: quantum, photonic; electromagnetic technology; space system performance; materials for extreme environments; collaborative combat aircraft; secure and resilient tactical communications; weapons effects; propulsion and power; satellite continuity; corrosion prevention; and hypersonic weapons. Bilateral and multilateral ICR&D cooperative agreements, in the above areas, are with the following countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding was decreased $2.275 between FY 2026 and FY 2027 is due to under execution.

FY2026 plans — current year Continue FY 2025 projects and initiate new FY 2026 International Cooperative Research and Development (ICR&D) projects focused on: quantum, photonic, electromagnetic enabling technology; system performance; materials for extreme environments; collaborative combat aircraft; secure and resilient tactical communications; prediction of weapons effects; green propulsion and power; space-based solar power; radio frequency interference; satellite continuity; corrosion prevention materials; synthetic biology; cognitive modeling; and accelerated combined effects simulation. Bilateral and multilateral ICR&D cooperative agreements, in the above areas, include cooperation with: Australia, France…

The whole program

COOP is funded on 4 lines across 3 appropriations

This page shows $2.3M of COOP, 4.1% of the program's $56.6M FY2027 request. The rest is appropriated elsewhere.

Also funded hereTypeComponentFY2027 $M
COOP EngagementRDT&ENavy50.5
International Coop RDT&ERDT&ENavy3.5
Precision and Coop Weapons in a Denied Env TechRDT&EArmy0.3
COOP totalAir Force, Army, Navy56.6

Lines whose title names the program. 28 further lines only mention COOP in their justification text — those fund something else and are deliberately excluded from the total.

Congressional action

Congressional marks

Committee marks on the FY2027 request. Adds and cuts are reconciled in conference before they become law.

RequestPresident's Budget
$2.3M
House NDAA (HASC)HASC
$2.3M full · +$0
Senate NDAA (SASC)SASC
$2.3M full · +$0
House Approps (HAC-D)HAC_D
$2.3M full · +$0
unresolved as of 2026-07-27. These are FY2027 authorization marks (NDAA); appropriations and the conference agreement may differ.
Who's building it

Where the FY2027 request goes

Performers named in the R-3 exhibit, resolved into industry, government-lab, and unspecified shares. Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations.

Where FY2027 funding flowsShare$M
Other / unspecified100%2.3
FY2027 request100%2.3
Program detail

Mission & acquisition strategy

Funds are used for air, space, and cyber international cooperative research, and development (ICR&D) agreements with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states, major non-NATO allies and friendly foreign countries. Each of the approved ICR&D projects are required to have a concluded international agreement (IA), prior to funds being released, that implements the provisions of Title 10 U.S. Code, Section 2350a. This legislation (Title 10 U.S. Code, Section 2350a) authorizes funds to significantly improve U.S.

A principal goal of the NATO Cooperative Research and Development (R&D) program is to effectively utilize the resources invested by the United States of America (U.S.) and our allies in air, space, and cyber ICR&D projects. This program element provides the critical funding incentive needed to pursue air, space and cyber related International Cooperative Research and Development (ICR&D) agreements and helps to (a) leverage Department of the Air Force (DAF) and allied resources through cost sharing and economies of scale; (b) exploit the best allied technologies for equipping coalition forces; (c) demonstrate areas of commonality or interoperability with our allies; and (d) accelerate the availability of defense technology and systems.

Project 64NATO — Nato Coop R&D
  • Support
  • Test and Evaluation
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Answers are generated from the figures on this page — the FY2027 justification exhibits and the marks tracked above — and nothing else is consulted. Confirm any figure against the cited exhibit before you use it externally.

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Questions this page can answer
How does the FY2027 request compare with FY2026, and what does the five-year plan show?What did the FY2027 NDAA committees do to this request?How is the FY2027 request split between industry and government performers?In plain terms, what is this program element for and how is it being acquired?

This page carries the budget justification and the NDAA marks — nothing else. For what a contractor has actually been obligated, the ledger is at hitchintel.com/vendors; for live solicitations, hitchintel.com/opportunities. Both are member surfaces.

Provenance

Cite this page

Sources
FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification · Exhibits R-2 / R-3 · PE 0603790F (President's Budget PB2027) — and FY2027 NDAA committee marks, as tracked 2026-07-27.
Suggested citation
HitchAI, "Nato Coop R&D (PE 0603790F)," federal budget intelligence, PB2027 vintage. hitchintel.com/programs/0603790F
Machine access
Markdown twin /programs/0603790F.md · MCP mcp.hitchintel.combudget_get_program_element, budget_get_cong_marks