What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 3751 of PE 0604295M. This is the budget justification's own description of work that has not happened yet — the one thing no other level of the budget carries.
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 (VMX-1) will follow with operational assessments of those suites. Anticipated operational assessment will occur OCONUS/CONUS in support of a limited Contractor Owned-Contractor Operated (COCO) deployment of assets with Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR). The operational assessment will refine aspects of Fleet integration and identify risk areas associated with DOTmLPF. Due to expeditionary nature of Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC), static cargo demonstrators will further inform DOTmLPF towards reducing manpower and training requirements associated with expeditionary operations. Future Attack/Strike (FASt) CDTM efforts will focus on fully informed mission effectiveness and operational analysis to demonstrate platform integration with MAGTF and Aviation Combat Element integrated kill web execution. Tasks include: acquisition program management functions, systems engineering activities, Integration Laboratory engineering modeling and analysis, Master Test Strategy (MTS) execution, and system specification development. The Integration Laboratory will use IT infrastructure that supports real-time, collaborative Government/vendor interaction at multiple security levels, supporting bench level testing of software/hardware, and will be used to conduct defect testing and anomaly exploration discovered during prototype evaluations.
Funds increase from FY 2026 to FY 2027 to support ALC Mission Systems Integration (i.e., autonomy, navigation and user interface integration) and support for MLR operational assessment.
FY2026: the year under way
Prior-year accomplishments and current-year plans from the same exhibit. Context for the FY2027 plan, not a series — an activity partitions its project exactly in the request year, but can under-cover it in earlier years.
Vendors will develop and integrate unique software/hardware autonomy solutions into demonstration aircraft. Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Four (UX-24) will conduct prototype evaluations of vendor autonomy suites while MAWTS-1 and Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VMX-1) will follow with operational assessments of those suites. These operational assessments will refine aspects of Fleet integration and identify risk areas associated with Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leadership and Education, Personnel, and Facilities (DOTmLPF). Due to expeditionary nature of ALC, static cargo demonstrators will further inform DOTmLPF towards reducing manpower and training requirements associated with expeditionary operations. Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and Critical Design Review (CDR) events will occur in FY 2026. Future Attack/Strike CDTM efforts will focus on trade studies and design reviews associated with marinization and shipboard compatibility. Tasks include: acquisition program management functions, systems engineering activities, Integration Laboratory engineering modeling and analysis, Master Test Strategy (MTS) execution, and system specification development. The Integration Laboratory will use IT infrastructure that supports real-time, collaborative government/vendor interaction at multiple security levels, supports bench level testing of software/hardware, and conduct defect testing and anomaly exploration discovered during prototype evaluations.
Three years, and no five-year plan
An R-2A activity publishes the prior year, the current year and the budget year. The FYDP outyears exist at project and program-element level and are deliberately absent here rather than inferred. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 49.2 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 33.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 42.2 |
This activity is 100% of project 3751's FY2027 request and 90% of PE 0604295M's. In the request year the activities under a project sum to it exactly; in the current year they under-cover it in about 9% of cases, so an activity's delta can legitimately exceed its parent's and the two must not be compared row to row.
1 activity in project 3751
Every R-2A line of this project, largest FY2027 request first. Linked where the activity has enough of its own narrative to carry a page; the rest are shown in full on the project page.