# Counter Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) — Program Element 0604636N

**Program element:** 0604636N  
**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/0604636N

## Summary

U.S. Navy funding ramps 25% to a $20.8M request in FY2027, 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. Northrop Grumman leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 15.4 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 16.7 |
| FY2027 | Request | 20.8 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 21.5 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 21.8 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 22.1 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 22.5 |

> 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 | 20.8 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 20.8 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 20.8 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 20.8 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3241 | Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) | 1.6 | 4.7 | 13.6 | +192% |
| 2073 | DRAKE 2.0 C-UAS Afloat | 13.8 | 12.0 | 7.2 | −40% |

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

### Project 3241 — Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS)

The Counter small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS) Family of Systems (FoS) program was funded to provide initial material solutions to SECNAV-prioritized locations CONUS and OCONUS with baseline electronic warfare (EW) capabilities to detect, track, identify, and defeat sUAS over a large coverage area. Following initial material deployment, the program continues to expand the capabilities of select, high priority systems and adapt new solutions to defeat evolving threats. The initial material solution included CORIAN, Ninja, DroneDefender, and DroneBuster. Expanded solutions include EO/IR, radar, C2, new EW detect/defeat capabilities, alternative sensors, and additional kinetic and non-kinetic mitigations needed to prepare, maintain, and upkeep force protection, self-defense and operational capabilities against the ever-evolving sUAS threat. Funding is provided to protect high-value and/or critical Navy assets and support public safety against threats by inadvertent or unlawful misuse of sUAS. FY27 increase will provide system assessments, intra-service technology capitalization, and refinement of open architecture solutions and interoperability standards of fixed facility Navy Sites with joint C-UxS systems and with C-UxsS syetms on Navy Ships. Funding also provides for government engineering support for the technology development and acquisition strategy for fielding material solutions that will help C-Uxs systems to evolve to rapidly evolving UAS capabilities.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** NAWCAD (0.7, 5.3%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-UAS System Development and Integration | 1.6 | 4.7 | 13.6 |

> 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 2073 — DRAKE 2.0 C-UAS Afloat

The DRAKE Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CUAS) is an Electronic Warfare (EW) Force Protection system designed to detect, identify, track, and defeat small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) for afloat naval forces. The DRAKE system will be upgraded with improved radios, processors, and display units to meet the non-kinetic requirements established in the OPNAV DRAKE Top Level Requirement (TLR). The program will utilize Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware for the display and custom, software and hardware in the Increment 1 tech refresh. Increment 1 upgrades will focus on refreshing the core technology to replace legacy hardware with the latest processors/controllers, which will significantly increase signal processing speed and bandwidth (NextGen SDR). These improvements will enable the system to counter more advanced commercial sUAS efficiently. A COTS tablet-like Graphical User Interface (GUI) called the Control Display Unit (CDU) 2.0 will replace the legacy CDU, providing enhanced visual tracking and identification data of UAS. This upgrade will ultimately improve situational awareness and signal analysis for the warfighter. In Increment 2, the DRAKE system will be integrated with ships' Command and Control with optimized antennas for C-sUAS mission to enhance ships' situational awareness and prosecution of UAS threats. Prior to FY23, DRAKE C-UAS funding can be found in PE 0603654N/Project 3177.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Northrop Grumman (1.2, 17%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DRAKE | 13.8 | 12.0 | 7.2 |

> 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 | 9.2% | 1.9 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 24% | 5.0 |
| Other / unspecified | 67% | 13.9 |

**Top named industry performers:** Northrop Grumman ($1.2M, 5.8%), NAWCAD ($0.7M, 3.5%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The Counter small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS) Family of Systems (FoS) program was funded to provide initial material solutions to SECNAV-prioritized locations CONUS and OCONUS with baseline electronic warfare (EW) capabilities to detect, track, identify, and defeat sUAS over a large coverage area. Following initial material deployment, the program continues to expand the capabilities of select, high priority systems and adapt new solutions to defeat evolving threats. The initial material solution included CORIAN, Ninja, DroneDefender, and DroneBuster.

C-sUAS acquisition strategy will include leveraging a combination of currently funded JCO and DoD efforts, OEM production and support contracts, and Naval Warfare engineering and organic Lead System Integrator (oLSI) capabilities. This will help maintain commonality of current C-sUAS solutions while continuing to evaluate, improve, and implement layered defense capabilities into the integrated FoS to defeat evolving threats. To maximize resource allocations, the Program will utilize existing DOD contracts that have been deemed appropriate for the funding, as well as award any new contracts needed.

## Related program elements

- [0603920A — Humanitarian Demining](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603920A) (Army)
- [0605051A — Aircraft Survivability Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605051A) (Army)
- [0605013N — Information Technology Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605013N) (Navy)
- [0902498N — Management HQ - Departmental Spt Acts](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0902498N) (Navy)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604636N (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604636N")`.

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