RDT&E Program Element · President's Budget PB2027

Technology Transfer

PE 0604317F·U.S. Air Force·Approp. 3600 — RDT&E·BA4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes
FY2027 Request
$2.2M
Air Force · RDT&E
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U.S. Air Force funding falls 94% to a $2.2M request in FY2027 (down from a FY2026 peak), sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators added 455% (to $12.2M). TechLink leads the industry work.

FY2027 Request
$2.2M
▼ 94% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$37.5M
▲ 270% vs FY2025
FY2025 Actual
$10.2M
Prior year

For fiscal year 2027, the U.S. Air Force is requesting $2.2M for Technology Transfer under RDT&E program element 0604317F, down 94% from FY2026.

Funding trajectory

Funding profile, FY2025–FY2031

Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.

25010.2FY25ACTUAL37.5FY26ENACTED2.2FY27REQUEST2.3FY282.3FY292.4FY302.4FY31
Actual Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
Fiscal YearEstimate TypeAmount ($M)
FY2025Actual10.2
FY2026Enacted37.5
FY2027Request2.2
FY2028Outyear2.3
FY2029Outyear2.3
FY2030Outyear2.4
FY2031Outyear2.4
Where it sits

Acquisition lifecycle

This program is funded in RDT&E Budget Activity 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes.

Complete
Research
BA 1–2
Complete
Advanced Technology
BA 3
Current
Prototyping
BA 4
Later
Development & Fielding
BA 5–7
Inside the program element

1 project rolls up into PE 0604317F

Projects are the summable leaves — the PE total is their sum, never added to it. Program elements and projects carry the full five-year plan; activities stop at the budget year. This PE moves -94% overall, which can hide much larger swings below.

Project 646003

Partnership Intermediary Agreements/T3

$2.2MFY2027 request ▼ 94%
FY2025 actual$10.2M
FY2026 enacted$37.5M
FY2027 request$2.2M
Support

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) Tech Transfer & Transition Program Office Tech Transfer & Transition Program Office manages two Department of War (DoW) level Partnership Intermediaries (PIAs) (TechLink & MilTech), supports oversight of 15 DAF PIAs, and oversees all DAF inventions/patents and technology transfer agreements. Enabled by the TechLink PIA, TechLink brokered 80% of DoW license agreements over the past five years, with 90% of them being with small businesses. TechLink has also facilitated over 2,000 DoW tech transfer agreements since 1999 and has enabled the conversion of lab inventions into realized products and services that bolster the US Defense Innovation Ecosystem. Montana State University's MilTech has performed over 600 technology acceleration and transition projects for all DoW Services, OSW, Joint and Special Programs. Additionally, MilTech has partnered will all DoW Services for over twenty years to support efforts such as electronic warfare, medical technologies and body armor projects and has been selected as the permanent bi-annual host of the Interservice Body Armor Working Group (IBAWG) event. Montana State University's MilTech has been rated as a Top Ten Veteran Friendly university and has supported MilTech's 20 years of successful technology transitions that protect Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians. This project funds the management of DoW/DAF PIAs, invention disclosure & patent processing, program management activities, training, support to the Technology Executive Officer (TEO), and support of the Defense Technology Transfer Information System (DTTIS). This DTTIS platform collects and manages technology transfer activities.

Accomplishments / planned programs (R-2A) — prior, current and budget year only
Technology Transfer▼ 38%
FY2025 actual$3.4M
FY2026 enacted$3.5M
FY2027 request$2.2M

FY2027 planned work - Continue with expanded implementation of innovative and cost-effective approaches to accelerate the transfer and transition of technologies developed at DoW, including the development and deployment of AI tools and capability. - Continue evaluation of DoW inventions and intellectual property and facilitation of T2 agreements, focusing on license agreements and CRADAs around dual use technologies. - Continue expanding nationwide marketing program to further engage the industrial base around T2 partnership opportunities. - Stop training and education efforts of new stakeholder and topic-based training modules. - Stop recurring assessments of the economic and warfighter impacts of DoW T2…

FY2026 to FY2027 change In FY 2027, the budget decreased by $1.333 million, stopping training and education and impact analysis efforts. This reduction reflects programmatic adjustments to the DAF Science and Technology portfolio for strategic realignment to optimize core research areas and improve resource efficiency.

FY2026 plans — current year - Continue with expanded implementation of innovative and cost-effective approaches to accelerate the transfer and transition of technologies developed at DoW, including the development and deployment of AI tools and capability. - Continue evaluation of DoW inventions and intellectual property and facilitation of Tech Transfer (T2) agreements, focusing on license agreements and CRADAs around dual use technologies. - Continue expanding nationwide marketing program to further engage the industrial base around T2 partnership opportunities. - Continue the growth and expansion of training and education efforts through development of new stakeholder and topic-based training modules. - Continue…

Congressional action

Congressional marks

Committee marks on the FY2027 request. Adds and cuts are reconciled in conference before they become law.

RequestPresident's Budget
$2.2M
House NDAA (HASC)HASC
$2.2M full · +$0
Senate NDAA (SASC)SASC
$2.2M full · +$0
House Approps (HAC-D)HAC_D
$12.2M +$10.0M · +455%
▲ $10.0M chamber gap — unresolved as of 2026-07-27. These are FY2027 authorization marks (NDAA); appropriations and the conference agreement may differ.
Who's building it

Where the FY2027 request goes

Performers named in the R-3 exhibit, resolved into industry, government-lab, and unspecified shares. Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations.

TechLink
$2.2M · 100%
License Department of War inventions for conversion into new products and services
Where FY2027 funding flowsShare$M
Industry primes100%2.2
FY2027 request100%2.2
See TechLink's full federal contract ledger members
Program detail

Mission & acquisition strategy

Technology Transfer is a critical part of the National Defense Strategy (NDS) and Department of War (DoW) that makes the best possible use of national scientific, technical resources and information to enhance the effectiveness of DoW forces and warfighting capability systems. The Department of the Air Force (DAF) Technology Transfer and Transition (T3) program oversees all of the DAF inventions/patents and technology transfer agreements, such as Cooperative Research and Development agreements (CRADAs), Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Confidential Disclosure Agreements (CDAs), etc.

This effort uses a Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) with Montana State University-TechLink. Through this agreement TechLink helps the Department of War to establish licensing and other technology transfer agreements with US industry. The effort is run through the Air Force Research Laboratory/Strategic Partnering Office at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Project 646003 — Partnership Intermediary Agreements/T3
  • Support
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Answers are generated from the figures on this page — the FY2027 justification exhibits and the marks tracked above — and nothing else is consulted. Confirm any figure against the cited exhibit before you use it externally.

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Questions this page can answer
How does the FY2027 request compare with FY2026, and what does the five-year plan show?What did the FY2027 NDAA committees do to this request?How is the FY2027 request split between industry and government performers?In plain terms, what is this program element for and how is it being acquired?

This page carries the budget justification and the NDAA marks — nothing else. For what TechLink has actually been obligated, the ledger is at hitchintel.com/vendors; for live solicitations, hitchintel.com/opportunities. Both are member surfaces.

Provenance

Cite this page

Sources
FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification · Exhibits R-2 / R-3 · PE 0604317F (President's Budget PB2027) — and FY2027 NDAA committee marks, as tracked 2026-07-27.
Suggested citation
HitchAI, "Technology Transfer (PE 0604317F)," federal budget intelligence, PB2027 vintage. hitchintel.com/programs/0604317F
Machine access
Markdown twin /programs/0604317F.md · MCP mcp.hitchintel.combudget_get_program_element, budget_get_cong_marks