# Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) — Program Element 0604530N

**Program element:** 0604530N  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604530N

## Summary

U.S. Navy funding ramps 73% to a $60.5M request in FY2027 — the program's peak, before stepping down 91% across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full. GA leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 10.7 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 34.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 60.5 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 50.5 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 28.8 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 5.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 5.4 |

> 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 | 60.5 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 60.5 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 60.5 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 60.5 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2367 | Advanced Arresting Gear | 10.7 | 32.0 | 60.5 | +89% |
| 9999 | Congressional Adds | 0.0 | 2.9 | 0.0 | −100% |

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

### Project 2367 — Advanced Arresting Gear

The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) program designed, developed, tested and fielded an aircraft arrestment system to replace the legacy Mark 7 arresting gear. AAG systems are being installed on all new construction aircraft carriers. AAG will provides the U.S. Navy with improved operational capability, while reducing operating and support costs. The AAG system will recover all existing and projected carrier based tail hook-equipped air vehicles well into the 21st century. The AAG program will undergo future system improvements to address safety, obsolescence, reliability, and cyber security to include but not limited to AAG Software Stability, AAG Depot Planning, AAG Software Support Activity (SSA), Reliability Improvement ECPs, Obsolescence ECPs and FLASH. The Software Stability development efforts will address software deficiencies, stability and reliability issues documented in a System Safety Risk Assessment (SSRA) for AAG software, and in a separate investigative report by a NAVAIR Independent Review Team (IRT). Development efforts will mitigate specific findings related to non-deterministic behavior and latency of the software that contribute to the SSRA Hazard rating (1D-Serious). Per IRT report recommendations, these efforts will address findings via software modernization and re-architecture, with new software adhering to improved Level or Rigor (LOR) standards and processes. Development efforts include enhancing the AAG software development laboratory. Completion of AAG Depot Planning includes analysis of test bench and depot repair Support Equipment, final updates to logistics product information and maintenance task analysis, and develop Overhaul work instruction, repair procedures, and overhaul intervals. Previous Depot Planning efforts provided initial analysis and completion of Functional Requirements document (FRD). Depot Planning is approximately 85% complete, and does not have to be 100% complete to begin Depot Standup procurements. AAG SSA funding provides development and execution of a high-level hybrid SSA planning document to ensure software test activities and procedures are implemented for AAG. Reliability improvements will be accomplished with the development of ECPs addressing AAG Production Impacts, including but not limited to ECP-0120 Charging Power Supply, and pECP-027 AAG Water Twister Drain & Fill Kit.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** GA (37.5, 62%), NAWCAD (16.1, 27%), CMU/SEI (0.5, 0.9%), SAIC (0.3, 0.5%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) System Improvements | 10.7 | 32.0 | 60.5 |

> 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 9999 — Congressional Adds

Congressional Add: To maintain a decisive warfighting advantage, this Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) initiative will modernize requirements management for the EMALS and AAG systems. This critical effort fosters a transition from an obsolete, unsupported MBSE tool - which presents inefficiencies - to a modern, industry-standard platform with no licensing costs. This migration to a common Navy tool will unlock enhanced traceability, streamlined test verification, and seamless interoperability, directly enabling agile acquisition, responsive software support and continuous fleet improvements. Utilizing the most up to date MBSE tool will enable the EMALS and AAG programs to create robust digital models to design, visualize, document, and manage requirements in a streamlined and cost-effective manner.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 90% | 54.7 |
| Other / unspecified | 9.6% | 5.8 |

**Top named industry performers:** GA ($37.5M, 62%), NAWCAD ($16.1M, 27%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) program designed, developed, tested and fielded an aircraft arrestment system to replace the legacy Mark 7 arresting gear. AAG systems are being installed on all new construction aircraft carriers. AAG will provide the U.S. Navy with improved operational capability, while reducing operating and support costs. The AAG system will recover all existing and projected carrier-based tail hook-equipped air vehicles well into the 21st century.

The Navy competitively awarded two Cost Plus Fixed Fee Technical Development phase contracts to develop the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system. Upon completion of the Preliminary Design and Integrated Baseline reviews, the Navy awarded a single Cost Plus Award Fee option to General Atomics for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase to develop and demonstrate a production representative AAG at the NAVAIR Lakehurst Jet Car Track Site and Runway Arrested Landing Site. AAG has transitioned from the design and development phase into concurrent production and sustainment phase.

## Related program elements

- [0604512N — Shipboard Aviation Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604512N) (Navy)
- [0604112N — Gerald R FORD CI NUC Aircraft Carrier CVN 78-80](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604112N) (Navy)
- [0205219F — MQ-9 UAV](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0205219F) (Air Force)
- [0603804A — Logistics and Engineer Equipment - Adv Dev](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603804A) (Army)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604530N (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604530N")`.

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