What project 096 buys
The Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence (C4I) and Software Intensive Systems (SIS) Test (C4T) project addresses test technology for next generation resilient, survivable, federated networks and information systems (information superiority) from the tactical level up to strategic planning. The technology development efforts within the C4T project have been prioritized to align with the Department’s guidance of S&T Communities of Interest (CoIs) and the National Defense Strategy. Gaps are driven by more complex warfare environments and distributed systems; large quantities of data and intelligence (e.g., Big Data, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Machine Learning Algorithms (MLA)); and more software intensive systems (e.g. F-35, CVN, IBCS)). C4T addresses gaps in Big Data Analytics technologies to gain knowledge from massive amounts of structured and unstructured data collected over a single test, but also expanded to look at the systems’ performance over the acquisition lifecycle. The technologies are required when testing sensor platforms, command and control systems and weapon platforms that support the kill chain in a Joint multi-domain operation. These systems must be evaluated for their ability to provide the accurate, timely transfer of data (e.g., target tracks, weapons allocation, mission tasking, and situational awareness) as the data passes among the Services, Warfighting Domains, and Coalition Partners. C4T also addresses gaps in Live and Simulated Environments, these technologies are required to increase the use of a distributed test environment for new warfare concepts leveraging simulated entities (e.g. modeling and simulation) for more thorough joint mission context platform T&E (e.g., Anti-Access Arial Denial (A2AD) and Manned and Unmanned Systems (MUM-T)). The technologies within C4T will remove undesired distributed testing biases while improving test agility and the tester’s ability to effectively support knowledge management, rapid analysis of “Big Data," and automated test reporting. The C4T project advances these test technologies as well as Big Data collection, analysis, and visualization that enable the virtual integration of Department weapon laboratories and open-air ranges.
Project 096 funding, 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. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 42.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 13.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 754.6 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 515.9 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 509.4 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 510.4 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 510.1 |
1 accomplishment / planned program
The R-2A exhibit — the only level of the budget that describes work that has not happened yet. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only, no five-year plan. Each describes FY2027 work in enough detail to have its own page; the rest are shown here in full. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.
In FY 2027, C4T will continue to mature technologies for testing next generation resilient, survivable, federated networks and information systems (information superiority). Highlights include: - Establish and standardize new test locations for drone dominance, directed energy, and EW/spectrum testing, leveraging existing DoW and non-DoW…
Read the FY2027 plan →