# Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Capability — Program Element 0604035A

**Program element:** 0604035A  
**Component:** U.S. Army  
**Appropriation:** 2040 — RDT&E, Army  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604035A

## Summary

U.S. Army funding falls 98% to a $0.3M request in FY2027, 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 | 21.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 17.1 |
| FY2027 | Request | 0.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 12.6 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 16.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 16.9 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 17.1 |

> 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 | 0.3 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 0.3 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 0.3 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 0.3 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BX7 | Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Capability | 21.1 | 17.1 | 0.3 | −98% |

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

### Project BX7 — Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Capability

The United States Army Tactical Space Strategy provides tactical land component forces with space-based capabilities required to close the top three Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) gaps and counter adversarial surveillance and reconnaissance systems that affect friendly maneuver forces. National, DoW, commercial space-based, and High Altitude (HA) sensor data will be integrated into army and Joint ground architectures to provide resilient communications, assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT), all domain sensing capabilities (including space, high altitude, aerial and terrestrial sensors, data transport, data fusion, data analytics), automated Processing Exploitation and Dissemination (PED) required in the targeting process (target recognition, machine learning and advanced algorithm development), and provide command and control (C2) of non-kinetic fires for counter ISR capabilities to enable maneuver force operations. These capabilities will enable rapid and responsive all-domain targeting applications required to engage and defeat A2/AD forces and enable force projection and freedom of maneuver in contested Multi-Domain Operations and continue to inform the Army and Joint Services Family of Integrated Targeting Cells (FIT-C). Provides prototyping, experimentation, and risk reduction activities for ground architecture, supporting wide-area, responsive, and deep-area sensing required for Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) targeting and C2 of non-kinetic fires for counter ISR operations, significantly reducing Sensor to Shooter (S2S) timelines and enabling freedom of maneuver for operational forces. It will enable Warfighters at echelon to conduct C2 of counter surveillance and reconnaissance operations and to dynamically task, receive and disseminate data to directly support live-fire S2S demonstrations and assessments. FY2027 base funding in the amount of $0.319 million provides prototyping, experimentation, and risk reduction activities for the Army as it continues to develop and field prototypes to close the all-domain sensing capability gap and provide prototyping and experimentation for counter-adversarial surveillance and reconnaissance systems and their Command and Control (C2). Complimentary Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies are assessed via various prototyping and ground station (FIT-C) architecture efforts.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEO Satellite Capability | 21.1 | 17.1 | 0.3 |

> 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% | 0.3 |

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The United States Army Tactical Space Strategy provides tactical land component forces with space-based capabilities required to close the top three Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) gaps and counter adversarial surveillance and reconnaissance systems that affect friendly maneuver forces. National, DoW, commercial space-based, and High Altitude (HA) sensor data will be integrated into army and Joint ground architectures to provide resilient communications, assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT), all domain sensing capabilities (including space, high altitude, aerial and terrestrial sensors, data transport, data fusion, data analytics), automated Processing Exploitation and…

This effort was designed to address the top 3 Army Large Scale Operations (LSCO) gaps of multi-domain deep-sensing, penetration of and disintegration of threat A2AD, and long range fires. It represents investments which will result in knowledge transfers to inform space-related capability requirements and concepts of operations that support, at a minimum, Army Campaign Plan Objectives (#7: See and Sense Farther / Multidomain Intel & Targeting, #8: Precise, Longer-Range Fires (Conduct precision strike in depth across domains), #10: Survivable and Resilient Formations, and #6: Rapidly and reliably communicate & share data (Gain & Maintain decision dominance)).

## Related program elements

- [0602435N — Ocean Wrfghtg Env Applied Res](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602435N) (Navy)
- [0305208M — Distributed Common Ground/Surface Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0305208M) (Navy)
- [0605013BL — Information Technology Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605013BL) (Defense-Wide)
- [1206446SF — Resilient MW/MT - LEO](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206446SF) (Space Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Army RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604035A (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604035A")`.

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