# Defense Autonomous Warfare Group — Program Element 0604539D8Z

**Program element:** 0604539D8Z  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604539D8Z

## Summary

Defense-Wide requests $1.00B in FY2027 against nothing enacted in FY2026 — the program's peak, with nothing planned by FY2031. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 0.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 1,000.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 0.0 |

> 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 | 1,000.0 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 1,000.0 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 1,000.0 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 1,000.0 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 212 | Defense Autonomous Warfare Group | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1,000.0 | new start |

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

### Project 212 — Defense Autonomous Warfare Group

The Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) supports the Secretary of War's Drone Dominance initiative for autonomous systems procurement, domestic production capacity, and advanced capabilities. The Drone Dominance initiative will provide investment for: 1) Contested Logistics initiatives – providing support to establish a commercially integrated logistics network capable of sustaining autonomous operations under contested conditions. 2) Collaborative Autonomy initiatives – providing support to the software, control layers, interfaces, and integration rigor required for autonomous systems to operate collaboratively at scale. 3) Force Generation initiatives – providing support for the institutions, personnel pipelines, and other resources required to operate autonomous systems at scale. 4) Counter-Unmanned Systems initiatives – providing support for defense against unmanned threats to the enterprise. 5) Asset Purchase and Industrial Demand Signal initiatives – to support the procurement of unmanned systems required to generate operational mass across air, surface, subsurface, and ground domains.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defense Autonomous Warfare Group | — | — | 1,000.0 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unspecified | 100% | 1,000.0 |

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The FY 2027 request for Drone Dominance includes $1,000,000 thousand of discretionary and $53,599,650 thousand of mandatory for a total of $54,599,650 thousand. The mandatory funds Drone Dominance which is in support of the Secretary’s Drone Dominance initiative for autonomous systems procurement, domestic production capacity, and advanced capabilities. The Drone Dominance initiative will provide investment for: 1) Contested Logistics initiatives – providing support to establish a commercially integrated logistics network capable of sustaining autonomous operations under contested conditions.

N/A

## Related program elements

- [0605013BL — Information Technology Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605013BL) (Defense-Wide)
- [0605345A — Unmanned Aerial Systems Launched Effects Systems Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605345A) (Army)
- [0604771D8Z — Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604771D8Z) (Defense-Wide)
- [1203176F — CSAR EMD](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203176F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604539D8Z (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604539D8Z")`.

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