# Hypersonic Defense — Program Element 0604181C

**Program element:** 0604181C  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604181C

## Summary

Defense-Wide funding ramps 17% to a $213.8M request in FY2027, sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House added 23% (to $263.8M); the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. Lockheed Martin leads the industry work, though an unusually large share flows to government labs and warfare centers.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 175.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 183.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 213.8 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 248.8 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 332.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 392.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 393.9 |

> 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 | 213.8 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 263.8 | +50.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 213.8 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 213.8 | +0.0 |

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

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD29 | Hypersonic Defense | 168.8 | 167.5 | 205.7 | +23% |
| MD40 | Program Wide Support | 7.1 | 15.5 | 8.1 | −48% |

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

### Project MD29 — Hypersonic Defense

Strategic competitors and both homeland and regional adversaries are heavily investing in hypersonics, both offense and defense, and currently have operational hypersonic strike and defensive systems deployed. These are challenging realities of the emerging missile threat environment that United States Missile Defense policy, strategy, and capabilities must address. These adversaries continue to expand the capability and capacity of their offensive and defensive hypersonic missile inventories for both strategic and regional hypersonic missiles. Near Peer/Peer nations have also demonstrated hypersonic missiles in flight tests. The Hypersonic Defense program element includes executing systems engineering activities, upgrading existing systems, investing in new technologies and maturation, and developing new regional and homeland defensive capabilities. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) counter hypersonic threats strategy includes leveraging existing systems, delivering an initial regional and homeland layered defense capability, and increasing defense capabilities in the future. Activities enabling this strategy are the following: - Develop a land and sea-based Glide Phase Intercept capability to engage hypersonic threats during the glide phase of flight and other threats of multi-mission areas. - Develop requirements to integrate Glide Phase Intercept capability into the Missile Defense System-Next capabilities in support of the President's Executive Order 14186. - Execute systems engineering for Hypersonic Defense, including architecture analysis, technology prioritization, requirements development, planning, and analysis. - Partner with the Services and other agencies to leverage land and sea-based work on common technologies, test infrastructure, weapon development, testing, and war-gaming. - Cooperatively develop the Glide Phase Interceptor with Japan.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Lockheed Martin (88.7, 43%), Northrop Grumman (25.3, 12%), MODERN (3.0, 1.5%), Program Executive Office (PEO) Integrate (2.3, 1.1%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Hypersonic Missile Defense Capability | 168.8 | 167.5 | 0.0 |
| Hypersonic Missile Defense Capability | 0.0 | 0.0 | 205.7 |

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

### Project MD40 — Program Wide Support

PWS contains non-headquarters management costs in support of Missile Defense Agency (MDA) functions and activities across the entire Missile Defense System. These functions include Government Civilians and Contract Support Services. This effort provides integrity and oversight of the Missile Defense System as well as supports MDA in the development and evaluation of technologies that will respond to the changing threat. Additionally, PWS includes personnel to support global deployments performing deployment site preparation and activation, and provides facility capabilities for MDA Executing Agent locations worldwide. Other MDA wide costs include: physical and technical security; civilian drug testing; audit readiness; the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program; legal services and settlements; travel and agency training; office, equipment, vehicle, and warehouse leases; utilities and base operations across multiple geographic locations; commercial and ancillary facility services; management of all facility aspects regardless of lifecycle stage; supplies and maintenance; compliance with statutory environmental requirements; data and unified communications support; materiel and readiness and central property management of equipment; Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) program (formerly Real Property Maintenance) to keep the Department's inventory of facilities in good working order; and similar operating expenses. PWS is allocated on a pro-rata basis across most Agency PEs and, therefore, fluctuates per PE by FY based on the total Agency budget in that FY.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** INTREPID, L.L.C (4.6, 56%), SYSTEMS ENGINEERING (1.5, 18%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program Wide Support | 7.1 | 15.5 | 8.1 |

> 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 59% | 125.9 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 34% | 72.6 |
| Other / unspecified | 7.1% | 15.3 |

**Top named industry performers:** Lockheed Martin ($88.7M, 41%), Northrop Grumman ($25.3M, 12%), INTREPID, L.L.C ($4.6M, 2.1%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

Strategic competitors and both homeland and regional adversaries are heavily investing in offensive and defensive hypersonic capabilities, and currently have operational hypersonic strike and defensive systems deployed. These are challenging realities of the emerging missile threat environment that U.S. Missile Defense policy, strategy, and capabilities must address. These adversaries continue to expand the capability and capacity of their offensive and defensive hypersonic missile inventories for both strategic and regional hypersonic missiles. Near-Peer/Peer nations have also demonstrated hypersonic missiles in recent flight tests.

To optimize Missile Defense System performance, MDA leverages the nation's engineering centers of excellence at government agencies, military services, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, University Affiliated Research Centers and industries. The executing agents use varying contracting strategies in a flexible manner to maximize their contribution to the Missile Defense System. MDA acquires products and services by competitive means to the extent that is possible, practical, and uses the Advanced Technology Broad Agency Announcement process to award concept definition contracts.

## Related program elements

- [0604115C — Technology Maturation Initiatives](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604115C) (Defense-Wide)
- [0604001F — NC3 Advanced Concepts](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604001F) (Air Force)
- [0604343F — Advanced Tanker Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604343F) (Air Force)
- [0305103C — Cyber Security Initiative](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0305103C) (Defense-Wide)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604181C (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604181C")`.

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