# Joint Capability Experimentation — Program Element 0603829J

**Program element:** 0603829J  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 6 — RDT&E Management Support  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603829J

## Summary

Defense-Wide requests $12.3M 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 | 11.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 13.7 |
| FY2027 | Request | 12.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 11.1 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 11.2 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 11.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 11.2 |

> 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 | 12.3 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 12.3 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 12.3 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 12.3 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Joint Capability Experimentation | 11.9 | 13.7 | 12.3 | −10% |

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

### Project 001 — Joint Capability Experimentation

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) documents the Chairman’s responsibilities to include experimentation on future concepts. Rigorous experimentation on concepts are a means to ensure Department investments adequately address future requirements, not just near term. Given this, the Joint Staff established an experimentation capability suitable for analysis and validation of priority joint concept required capabilities. This allows the Chairman to identify cost efficient and effective capability tradeoffs. This capability enables the Chairman to fulfill his Title 10 responsibility, “advising the Secretary on new and alternative joint military capabilities, and alternative program recommendations and budget proposals, within projected resource levels.” This capability more fully supports the Chairman’s production of the Joint Military Needs Assessment (JMNA), the Chairman’s Program Recommendation (CPR) and ultimately the Defense Planning Guidance for Joint Force development. This PE funds the Joint Staff J7 Joint Experimentation and Concept Integration (JE&CI) five main Advanced Technologies efforts; 1) Globally Integrated Wargames - Advanced Technologies (GIWG –AT), 2) Executing events related to the Campaign Approach to Joint Experimentation such as the Joint Experimentation Forum (JEF) and force design and development events supporting the Joint Warfighting Concept, Joint Fires, Joint Logistics, and Joint Command & Control. (3) Developing the Joint Experimentation Network - Advanced Technologies (JExNet AT) database across federated knowledge platforms, networks, experimentation activities, and various learning events to enable Joint Warfighting Concept. (4) Integrating experimentation with mature capabilities into Elite Constellation events providing a unique opportunity to expose joint warfighters to emerging technologies and develop new innovative concepts of operation. (5) Implementing the Joint Concept for Competing (JCC)is support of the Joint Warfighting Concept. The JCC is a Secretary of War approved conceptual framework that builds the future Joint Force required to realize the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Capability Experimentation | 11.9 | 13.7 | 12.3 |

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included as one of the Chairman’s responsibilities to address experimentation on future concepts. Rigorous experimentation takes place on concepts to ensure Department investments adequately address future requirements as well as those of today. Accordingly, the Joint Staff requires an experimentation capability to analyze and validate priority joint concept required capabilities. The Joint Staff leads, plans, and executes the Global Integrated Wargame (GIWG) events to examine the Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC) operational logic and identified gaps to support delivery of an evaluated concept to the Secretary of War.

## Related program elements

- [0602235N — Common Picture Applied Research](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602235N) (Navy)
- [0207697F — JFCOM Wargaming](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207697F) (Air Force)
- [0604742A — Constructive Simulation Systems Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604742A) (Army)
- [0604609F — Requirements Analysis & Concept Maturation](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604609F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0603829J (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603829J")`.

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