# Agile Combat Support — Program Element 0604617F

**Program element:** 0604617F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604617F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force funding falls 17% to a $19.3M 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 funded it in full. AFCEC leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 23.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 23.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 19.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 20.1 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 20.5 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 20.9 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 21.3 |

> 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 | 19.3 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 19.3 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 19.3 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 19.3 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 652895 | Civil Engineering Readiness | 20.9 | 21.5 | 17.9 | −17% |
| 654910 | Aeromedical Readiness | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.5 | −18% |

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

### Project 652895 — Civil Engineering Readiness

This Civil Engineering (CE) Readiness project develops Airbase Technologies (ABT), Airfield Damage Repair (ADR), Airfield Protection (AP), Energy & Utilities (E&U), and CE Materials (CEM) solutions for in-garrison, expeditionary, and contingency installations and airbases. This includes: technologies for airfield assessment, pavement repair and unexploded ordnance identification and mitigation to enable rapid recovery and regeneration of airfield operations; infrastructure design criteria, construction methods, hardened shelters, evaluation tools, materials, aviation firefighting, force protection, expeditionary energy, waste water recycling/treatment, CE materials applications and systems for improved resiliency and rapid recovery of airbase and airfield operations following an attack. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, and 0606398F.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** AFCEC (6.7, 37%), Battelle (5.3, 30%), Torch (3.1, 17%), DS2 (1.5, 8.6%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbase Technologies | 7.4 | 8.3 | 5.3 |
| Airfield Damage Repair | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.2 |
| Basing & Protection | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.3 |

> 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 654910 — Aeromedical Readiness

Aeromedical Readiness provides key aeromedical devices, life-saving capabilities and quality of life technologies and equipment. This program enables the critical care of combat casualties by further developing and optimizing existing technologies for ground Expeditionary Medical Systems (EMEDS) and aeromedical evacuation systems. EMEDS and aeromedical evacuation systems provide the urgent care needed to treat deployed injured warfighters and return them to duty while in country, and to treat combat casualties that need to be safely transported to a stateside hospital for follow on treatment. The program also supports critical capabilities development in the multi-disciplinary areas for light-weight, durable, and rapidly deployable medical equipment to ensure the Air Force is poised to meet future medical readiness and operational requirements, to include but not limited to Endovascular Aortic Control (EVAC), Pathogen Detection Capability, Automated Vision Testing, Whole Blood Transport and other FDA approved medical treatment devices. This program supports projects ranging from research efforts to optimize human physiologic, modernizing the standards used to measure aircrew, crew stations, and personal protective equipment and cognitive performance for Air Combat Command, to development of patient isolation and transportation devices for Air Mobility Command that enable aeromedical evacuation of patients suffering with highly infectious diseases. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, and 0606398F.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** AFLCMC (0.9, 59%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromedical Equipment Testing/Studies/Minor Development | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.5 |

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

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 90% | 17.4 |
| Other / unspecified | 9.8% | 1.9 |

**Top named industry performers:** AFCEC ($6.7M, 34%), Battelle ($5.3M, 28%), Torch ($3.1M, 16%), DS2 ($1.5M, 7.9%), AFLCMC ($0.9M, 4.5%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

Aeromedical Readiness provides key aeromedical devices, life-saving capabilities and quality of life technologies and equipment. This program enables the critical care of combat casualties by further developing and optimizing existing technologies for ground Expeditionary Medical Systems (EMEDS) and aeromedical evacuation systems. EMEDS and aeromedical evacuation systems provide the urgent care needed to treat deployed injured warfighters and return them to duty while in country, and to treat combat casualties that need to be safely transported to a stateside hospital for follow on treatment.

Whenever practical, commercial items are tested and evaluated as candidates for providing solutions to user needs. This normally involves contractor characterization, verification, and qualification testing to ensure Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved, commercial off-the-shelf equipment is properly evaluated to identify any capability gaps that may require minor modifications for military use. However, acquisition strategies may also be carried out for traditional Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD). Funds may be used to address associated emerging Aeromedical Readiness requirements and for program management activities.

## Related program elements

- [0604706F — Life Support Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604706F) (Air Force)
- [0604771N — Medical Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604771N) (Navy)
- [0604445F — Wide Area Surveillance](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604445F) (Air Force)
- [0601153N — Defense Research Sciences](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601153N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604617F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604617F")`.

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