# Directed Energy Demonstrator Development

**R-2A activity** of project MD98 — Directed Energy Demonstrator Development  
**Program element:** 0604115C — Technology Maturation Initiatives  
**Component:** Defense-Wide · **Budget Activity:** 4  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604115C/MD98/a0  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604115C

## Summary

This activity requests $59.7M in FY2027, 100% of project MD98, up 1094% on FY2026. The R-2A exhibit describes it across FY2026–FY2027, including what the FY2027 money is planned to buy.

## What the FY2027 request buys

**FY2027 planned work.** - Develop and/or mature cost effective technology demonstrators (component, subsystem and/or system-level) to address non-kinetic technology applications. - Link non-kinetic lethality mechanisms with advanced CONOPS/TTP though experimentation against representative and/or benchmark materials. - Increase US industrial depth for low SWAP subsystems: accelerating demonstration and testing of non-kinetic systems in multi-domain applications. - Electronic protection development and testing.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 provides for the acceleration of non-kinetic program and electronic protection testing and demonstration. These activities establish the foundation for non-kinetic capabilities for missile defense.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Congressional Add: Short Pulse Laser Direct Energy Demonstration for Hypersonic Defense ($5.0 million). - Continue Short Pulse Laser research.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 2.5 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 5.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 59.7 |

> Prior, current and budget year only — an R-2A activity carries no five-year plan. It sums exactly into its project in the request year and not necessarily in any other.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0604115C project MD98 (PB PB2027). Narrative is the government's own text.
- **No marks, no contractors at this grain** — congressional marks land on the program element and R-3 performers on the project.
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_activity`.

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