# Nato Coop R&D — Program Element 0603790F

**Program element:** 0603790F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603790F

## Summary

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.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 2.2 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 4.5 |
| FY2027 | Request | 2.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 2.5 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 2.6 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 2.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 2.8 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 2.3 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 2.3 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 2.3 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 2.3 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64NATO | Nato Coop R&D | 2.2 | 4.5 | 2.3 | −49% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 64NATO — Nato Coop R&D

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.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Cooperative Research and Development | 2.2 | 4.5 | 2.3 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unspecified | 100% | 2.3 |

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## 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.

## Related program elements

- [0603790A — NATO Research and Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603790A) (Army)
- [0604522N — Air & Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) System](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604522N) (Navy)
- [0305600F — International Intelligence Technology and Arc](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0305600F) (Air Force)
- [0603609N — Conventional Munitions](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603609N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0603790F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603790F")`.

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