# Project 3394 — Adv Undersea Prototyping-Vehicles, Propulsion & Navigation

**Program element:** 0604536N — Advanced Undersea Prototyping  
**Project:** 3394  
**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/0604536N/3394  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604536N

## Summary

Project 3394 — Adv Undersea Prototyping-Vehicles, Propulsion & Navigation requests $124.2M in FY2027, 76% of the $164.5M requested for program element 0604536N, up 4670% on FY2026. 3 R-2A activities decompose the request, 2 new this cycle.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 20.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 2.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 124.2 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 52.4 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 39.2 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 38.3 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 39.1 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0604536N; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 3394 buys

The Department of the Navy's unmanned undersea systems portfolio is a multi-faceted approach to address a Joint Emergent Operational Need and enhance capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. The UUV FoS portfolio includes the Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV), which features a modular payload bay for current and future systems. To accelerate development of XLUUV capabilities, the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform (CAMP) project will leverage commercial sources and rapid prototyping through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). This effort is complemented by stationary systems like Liberator, a seabed-positioned launcher for deploying various payloads in hard-to-reach areas, and the Hunter payload, which provides advanced mining capabilities for XLUUV platforms. A dedicated test and evaluation branch supports the entire portfolio, managing test programs from contractor testing to operational assessments to ensure the timely delivery of these critical undersea capabilities.

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

## Activities (R-2A) — 3

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAMP | 0.0 | 0.0 | 97.6 | new | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604536N/3394/a1) |
| Liberator | 0.0 | 0.0 | 26.6 | new | [a2](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604536N/3394/a2) |
| Orca | 20.9 | 2.6 | 0.0 | −100% | — |

> 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.

### CAMP — NEW START

CAMP XLUUV vendors will complete prototyping projects and the Government will assess the vendors' systems against prototype success criteria along with Fleet feedback. Successful projects will begin engineering tasks for production of Minimal Viable Products and iterative system improvements. Support Engineering will provide technical…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604536N/3394/a1

### Liberator — NEW START

Completion of a maintenance plan in addition to the development and approval of a final test plan. Prototype fabrication will be accomplished in Q4FY27. Training on the Liberator system use/maintenance will be performed with fleet sailors in preparation of the demo at sea beginning in Q4FY27.

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604536N/3394/a2

### Orca

**FY2027 planned work.** No further development of Orca in FY27.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Decrease from $2.605 to $0M due to the removal of all RDTEN funding for the Orca program.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** In January 2026, XLE1 was transferred to Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) to begin government testing. Boeing has completed production on XLE2 and is targeting April 2026 to deliver the vehicle to the Navy. The program is preparing to conduct a maximum endurance mission with XLE2 after delivery to showcase enhanced vehicle capability. XLE3 is scheduled to be delivered at the end of FY26 and XLE4-5 are scheduled to be delivered in early FY27.

## 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/0604536N.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0604536N project 3394 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604536N")`.

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