# Project 3751 — Vertical Takeoff and Landing Development

**Program element:** 0604295M — (u)marine Aviation Demonstration/validation  
**Project:** 3751  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604295M/3751  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604295M

## Summary

Project 3751 — Vertical Takeoff and Landing Development requests $42.2M in FY2027, 90% of the $47.2M requested for program element 0604295M, up 25% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request. NAWCAD is the largest named R-3 performer at $11.1M, 26% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 49.2 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 33.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 42.2 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 47.1 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 56.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 57.5 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 58.5 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0604295M; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 3751 buys

USMC VTOL Development portfolio addresses vertical lift capability requirements that are feasible and affordable. This element supports Marine Corps Force Design and Marine Corps Aviation's Project Eagle initiative. This portfolio facilitates developmental and operational prototyping and demonstration of capabilities supporting Logistics/Aviation Sustainment, Future Attack/Strike (FASt), Assault Support, and Autonomy. Project activities are closely aligned with the OSW-sponsored vertical lift initiatives and will look to leverage any aspects of Joint Service programs (e.g., Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, unmanned, air launched effects) that may benefit the Marine Corps through accelerated development and/or reduced life cycle costs. The VTOL Development portfolio serves as a force multiplier, supporting development, maturation, experimentation and evaluation of enhanced performance qualities (e.g., agility, endurance, reliability, lift capacity, survivability), technically relevant modular kinetic/non-kinetic payloads, and superior warfighter-machine interface (e.g., autonomy), enhancing warfighter lethality. This project increases the MAGTF's lethality through its long-range fires, Logistics/Aviation Sustainment, FASt, and Assault Support efforts. Specific projects include the Contested Logistics focused Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC). Project activities directly support Force Design and Project Eagle, enable the Stand-in Force (SiF), and facilitate Expeditionary Advanced Basing Operations (EABO), and Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment (LOCE) through the development of manned and unmanned capabilities that enhance warfighter survivability and lethality.

**R-3 lines of work:** Product Development; Support; Test and Evaluation; Management Services.

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| NAWCAD | 11.1 | 26% |

> Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations. Shares need not reach 100% — unnamed and government work is in the denominator.

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USMC Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Development | 49.2 | 33.9 | 42.2 | +25% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604295M/3751/a0) |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### USMC Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Development

Continued vendor Mission Systems Integration and development of identified software/hardware autonomy solutions into demonstration aircraft. Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Four (UX-24) will continue to conduct prototype evaluations of vendor autonomy suites while MAWTS-1 and Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604295M/3751/a0

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604295M.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0604295M project 3751 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604295M")`.

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