# Aircraft Avionics — Program Element 0604201A

**Program element:** 0604201A  
**Component:** U.S. Army  
**Appropriation:** 2040 — RDT&E, Army  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604201A

## Summary

U.S. Army funding ramps 73% to a $30.7M request in FY2027 — the program's peak, before stepping down 91% across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House added 16% (to $35.7M); the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators added 100% (to $61.4M). S3I/GTRI leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 1.7 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 17.7 |
| FY2027 | Request | 30.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 23.9 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 27.2 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 19.4 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 2.8 |

> 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 | 30.7 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 35.7 | +5.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 30.7 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 61.4 | +30.7 |

> 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VU3 | Networking And Mission Planning | 1.7 | 17.7 | 30.7 | +73% |

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

### Project VU3 — Networking And Mission Planning

Supports the development of hardware and the continuous integration and continuous development/delivery of software to meet both legacy and future aircraft platform avionics software and hardware requirements. To meet the Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) requirements as specified in the infrastructure annex of the NGC2 Initial Capabilities Document, specifically, a software control plane so the compute environment is agnostic to the hardware and hardware that meets the Open-Source Container Initiative, a General-Purpose Computing Platform (GPCP) will be developed. The Improved Data Modem REMAN (IDM OSR), effort cannot incorporate the NGC2 requirements in time to mitigate obsolescence issues or meet the requirement to remove and replace (no modification to the aircraft) the IDM 401 with the IDM OSR. Therefore, the development program for the GPCP is critical to address both IDM obsolescence and necessary hardware and software enhancements to support emerging Army requirements and evolve Aviation platform capabilities in alignment with Army Senior Leader priorities. The GPCP development program will include the design, qualification, and demonstration of a GPCP that meets critical Army capability use-cases that will provide Army Aviation platforms the ability to rapidly apply technology upgrades utilizing a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) with a nonproprietary Open Systems Architecture (OSA) to keep pace with evolving threats within multiple battlefield domains. The GPCP will enable the hosting of applications to communicate, navigate, sense, and deploy weapon systems across the Joint Force in support of Army Transformation in Contact and future aviation operations. It supports the future Common Digital Backbone for the enduring and future Army Aviation fleets with the ability to host flight critical capabilities and Next Generation Command and Control data forms. The Vendor(s) will be required to deliver three functional prototypes at end of contract.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** S3I/GTRI (25.9, 85%), GTRI (4.8, 16%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improved Data Modem Open Systems Reman and General-Purpose Computing Platform (GPCP) | 1.7 | 2.7 | 30.7 |

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

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 100% | 30.7 |

**Top named industry performers:** S3I/GTRI ($25.9M, 85%), GTRI ($4.8M, 16%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

Supports the development of hardware and the continuous integration and continuous development/delivery of software to meet both legacy and future aircraft platform avionics software and hardware requirements. To meet the Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) requirements as specified in the infrastructure annex of the NGC2 Initial Capabilities Document, specifically, a software control plane so the compute environment is agnostic to the hardware and hardware that meets the Open-Source Container Initiative, a General-Purpose Computing Platform (GPCP) will be developed.

The IDM Open System REMAN Strategy for development and production leverages an Other Government Agency's existing contract for hardware development and testing, and University Affiliated Research Center Contract for software development, integration, and testing to align with DoW's Modular Open System Approach (MOSA). The BE-CDL Congressional Add Acquisition Strategy is still in development.

## Related program elements

- [0603724N — Navy Energy Program](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603724N) (Navy)
- [0605244A — Joint Reduced Range Rocket (JR3)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605244A) (Army)
- [0604642A — Light Tactical Wheeled Vehicles](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604642A) (Army)
- [0208099JCY — Cloud & Unified Platform](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0208099JCY) (Defense-Wide)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Army RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604201A (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604201A")`.

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