Deployment and Distribution Development & Proto
In partnership with Services, Combatant Commands, OSD, select Defense Agencies, industry, and academia, this program collaboratively pursues the development, integration, field demonstration and assessment of contested logistics Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise (JDDE) and Joint Petroleum (JPE) capabilities. Contested logistics challenges include innovative projection and sustainment capabilities, seaport and airfield improvements, inventory/cargo management, materiel handling, cargo/container security, secure collaboration with commercial/interagency/coalition partners, and distributed global mobility C4. Intent is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of logistics operations in support of the joint warfighter. This program is in Budget Activity 3, Advanced Technology Development because this budget activity includes development of subsystems and components and efforts to integrate subsystems and components into system prototypes for field experiments and/or tests in a simulated environment.
FY2027 planned work Same as previous years, funds are used to support New Start research projects garnered via an annual March through October solicitation process. Funds also used to collaboratively invest/shape in the Office of the Undersecretary of War, Research & Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) programs (e.g., Defense Innovation Accelerator) proposals that address contested logistics challenges. On average, this line supports the funding of approximately six New Starts per year.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Decrease due to funds being applied to collaboratively funded investments in the Office of the Undersecretary of War, Research & Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) programs (e.g., Defense Innovation Accelerator) proposals that address contested logistics challenges. These funds help reduce duplication of effort across the Department.
FY2026 plans — current year Funds are used to support New Start research projects garnered via an annual March through October solicitation process. Funds also used to collaboratively invest/shape in the Office of the Undersecretary of War, Research & Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) programs (e.g., Defense Innovation Accelerator) proposals that address contested logistics challenges. On average, this line supports the funding of approximately six New Starts per year.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to a one year congressional add in FY2026 with funding executed by Air Force Research Lab.
FY2026 plans — current year Development of modular, compact vehicles equipped with self-propelled wheel to enhance ground handling and mobile platform capabilities, making them particularly valuable for expeditionary operations.
FY2026 plans — current year Funding shift to support the combined demonstration of multiple aerial delivery capabilities in an operational environment to demonstrate capability/help facilitate transition of proven technologies.
FY2027 planned work Integrate & test SHARCs #1 & 2 with initial operating capbility networking & autonomy hardware & software capabilities. Deliver prototype #2 (45 ft. extended version), IOC networking & autonomy solution, and develop/provide comprehensive final report. Technical Partner United States Central Command (USCENTCOM).
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to preparation for delivery of prototype #2 and final report development.
FY2026 plans — current year Completion & testing of Small High-speed Amphibious Role-variant Craft (SHARC) Prototype #2 (extended form factor to accommodate TRANSCOM funded/USMC owned Automated Pallet Loader (APL); retrofit of SHARC Prototype #1 with any equipment changes from Prototype #2 development; integration of the initial operating capability (IOC) of Government Off the Shelf (GOTS)/Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) networking & collaborative & autonomy SW framework into Prototypes #1 & 2; demo craft functionality for both SHARCs plus IOC autonomy; initial Concepts of Operations (CONOPS)/Tactic Techniques and Procedures (TTP) development in representative operational scenarios & development of key performance…
FY2027 planned work The Long Range Mission Planner module, built on AMP software, will be updated to conform with an Interface Control Document (ICD) for interoperability with C2 tool(s) and provide increased capability for rapid replanning in-flight.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to software updates that significantly increase development costs in FY2026. In addition, project starts mid-year FY2026 and FY2027 represents a full year of execution.
FY2026 plans — current year Mission planning software required for extended range vehicles development. Interface plugin(s) for the selected C2 tool will be developed to facilitate data exchange/transfer between Airdrop Mission Planner and the C2 tool, and between the C2 tool and the selected vehicle platform(s). A C2 tool will be developed for integration with the mission planning software and the vehicle flight software.
FY2027 planned work C2 System Prototype Design Delivered, Supply Chain Integration Model Delivered, Tabletop Exercise, Alert Level System Model delivered.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to development starts mid-year FY2026. FY2027 will see a full year of development.
FY2026 plans — current year Report of knowledge acquisition findings/plan of action, C2 System Operational View (OV)-1 and OV-4, regulatory compliance mission assessment, and design factors report and network design.
FY2027 planned work Continue Scanner functional to include weight entry and data table output, upper & lower cargo bays graphically defined (two aircraft), graphic load planner linked to data table, graphic load planner linked to data table, and field testing complete by operational units.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Decrease due to funding shifting from FY2026 to FY2027.
FY2026 plans — current year Scanner functional to include weight entry and data table output, upper & lower cargo bays graphically defined (two aircraft), graphic load planner linked to data table, graphic load planner linked to data table, and field testing complete by operational units.
FY2027 planned work Conduct several demonstrations where users and Test and Evaluation personnel can assess the technologies suitability and effectiveness. These Soldier touch points and capability testing will be completed along, and in addition to, platform testing incrementally showing more features as programs progress.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to project development beginning mid-year FY2026. FY2027 represents a full year of development.
FY2026 plans — current year Development that will first allow the sustainment support personnel to establish a vehicle inventory at the field level, capturing information such as vehicle type, serial number, mission readiness, and location. The specific vehicle being used for a given resupply mission will now be selectable within the mission profile, which results in the ability to monitor the fleet of resupply vehicle availability for current and future operations.
FY2027 planned work Contiune to develop an initial prototype focusing on simple synthetic data generation techniques.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease due to partial funding shifted to FY2027.
FY2026 plans — current year Identify and document a detailed data-driven use case that could benefit from synthetic data generation, collect and analyze real data (if available) to understand characteristics and underlying patterns, document potential techniques and tools for synthetic data generation.
FY2027 planned work Interim and final Prototype architecture enabling bi-directional linkages between operational through strategic models.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to development beginning mid-year FY2026. FY2027 represents full year of development.
FY2026 plans — current year Kick off meeting report and briefing slides detailing stakeholder input, user requirements and any adjustments to project schedule, and technical documentation for individual partner models.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2026, Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 630004, (Deployment and Distribution & Prototyping) efforts were transferred to Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 640216, (Deployment and Distribution Innovation) to align with funding with component development and prototypes in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment. Transition to Program Executive Office for Digital and Enterprise Services-supported life-cycle maintenance.
FY2026 plans — current year Continue work to construct a bench level prototype of winch system. Project completes. Transition to USN Joint Petroleum Over-The-Shore.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2026, Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 630004, (Deployment and Distribution & Prototyping) efforts were transferred to Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 640216, (Deployment and Distribution Innovation) to align with funding for software testing in simulated operational environment and validated against existing approved mission planning system. Transition to U.S. Army PEO Soldier Clothing & Individual Equipment (SCIE) Parachute Navigation System.
FY2027 planned work Develop new ways of defining the area that carry preferences are applied to, including support for applying different carry preferences to a disaster region and other regions within the same area of responsibility.
FY2026 plans — current year Spiral integration of capabilities and continue to provide research and development to design and prototype foundational level changes to the AMP-Core simulation engine necessary to provide the appropriate framework to accommodate challenging capability requirements for evolving CONOPs, as well as to position the tool well to advance and sustain analytic capabilities.
FY2027 planned work Develop environmental detection capabilities; the system can perform most system tasks; human override is still required; one operator oversees multiple systems. Identify and integrate sensors required to support this level of autonomy. Tests will be conducted to demonstrate ability of the system to safely maneuver in and around aircraft and other obstacles.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to costs associated with ensuring APL is capable of detecting the environment sufficiently to adjust operational parameters to maintain required safety levels. Performance summary reports and compiled user evaluations will be delivered.
FY2026 plans — current year Develop and test autonomy to enable a highly distributed material handling capability supporting tactical and strategic aircraft. Modifications will be made to reduce the overall system weight to 10,000 lbs. The forklift mast will be modified to increase the height from 50” to 75”. The forks will be modified to accommodate the handling of large munitions.
FY2027 planned work Work with stakeholders to determine applicable data, media sources, and test cases for text summarization demonstrations. Project will conclude with the documentation of all processes, software, configuration, models, and data used during prototype development and demonstration, including steps for transitioning to an operational state within the platform.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Decrease due to software development early in project in FY2026 thus reducing costs in FY2027.
FY2026 plans — current year Research suitable event correlation methods. Develop algorithm or method to correlate summarized text into events. Collect and organize data from diverse media sources, perform thorough cleaning, preprocessing, and tokenization, and identify and extract key features for summarization.
FY2027 planned work Develop an add-on "kit” that enables airdrop of an ISU while maintaining the existing compatibility with the ADS and logistics rails and adding a recovery parachute package and deployable impact attenuator.
FY2026 plans — current year Airdrop Flight Testing. Execute flight testing of the ISU Airdrop capability from USAF C-130 and/or C-17 aircraft. Testing will consist of three (3) flight test weeks at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. Technical Partner U.S. Army Combat Development Command.
FY2027 planned work Powered Ground Launch Test, Flight Test (500lb/300nm), Successful Ground Launch, Successful flight of 500lb payload/300nm.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Decrease in funding is due to increased test and less platform development.
FY2026 plans — current year Deliverable a full-scale ground launch test and begin flight testing. Testing to be conducted to demonstrate the Jet Augmented Glider Uncrewed Aerial Response-eXtra Performance (JAGUAR-XP's) full 1600lb payload capacity, maximum range, and integration of DoD owned Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) software and Global Positioning System (GPS) denied capabilities.
FY2027 planned work Hardware Implementation for Data Distribution and Inflight Collection will connect and/or construct hardware resources necessary to: 1) distribute pre-flight mission planning data to systems prior to launch (regardless of the mode of launch, i.e., ground, sea, air); 2) collect inflight in near- and/or real-time, serving the purposes of enabling inflight updates and collecting system performance data for offline model construction and validation.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Increase due to hardware costs.
FY2026 plans — current year Data synthesis algorithm construction involves the creation of an overarching algorithm that will automatically source, process, and synthesize data from the sources identified.
FY2027 planned work Develop Pier Reconnaissance and Assessment Tool and Port Logistics Throughput Model web apps. Develop Web-based Compute Platform (phase 3).
FY2026 plans — current year Develop Web-based computer platform. This includes development of the apps and includes CONUS testing to push the TRL to level 5. At this level there will be moderate data integration across the apps. Technical Partner Engineering Research and Development Command.
FY2027 planned work FY2027 development is in Program 0604776F Project 640212 due to demostration in an operational environment.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Decrease in funding in project code 630004 is due to FY2027 development transitioned to program 0604776F Project 640212 due to demonstration in an operational environment.
FY2026 plans — current year Flight computer integration that includes six-month sprints that will be executed in which each capability will be incrementally added to the hardware/software baseline.
FY2026 plans — current year FY2026 plans are detailed in Program 0604776F Project 640212 due to transition to demonstrations in operational environment.
FY2027 planned work Project transition from Project code 630004 to Project code 640212 in FY2027 due to test/demonstrations in operational environment. Detail FY2027 plans and budget in Project 640212.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Decrease due to transition from Project code 630004 to Project code 640212 in FY2027 due to test/demonstrations in operational environment. Detail FY2027 plans and budget in Project 640212.
FY2026 plans — current year Machine learning algorithm construction and integration. Algorithms will need to be trained to function properly. The data supplied to the algorithm will help shape the algorithm's performance. Prove ability to show the algorithm images with buildings labeled and to characterize these labels as areas in which no landing or flight can occur.
FY2027 planned work Execute up to three flight test weeks to demonstrate the performance of the container airdrop system.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Slight increase due to costs of garnering and using test flight ranges.
FY2026 plans — current year Identify potential payloads that would fit within the container, be survivable in airdrop, and find benefit from being transported and airdropped within a container. Select at least one payload (or more if possible) for demonstration during one of the airdrop test sessions.
FY2027 planned work Resistance to abrasion, impact, and grinding will be used as an indicator of the relative quality and hardness of the aggregate. The amount of lightweight and flat/elongated particles can affect the placement and consolidation of PCC and will be quantified for adequate mixture design.
FY2026 plans — current year Acquire representative reef, limestone, and volcanic coarse aggregates and fine aggregates (sea sand) of interest from the Pacific Basin for laboratory testing and characterization. These materials will be characterized to determine their properties and develop a mixture design matrix to evaluate the effects of each material type on the performance of the mixture. Testing of the soundness of the aggregate materials when subjected to weathering action will be measured.
FY2027 planned work Design, develop, integrate Minotaur Reach/Minotaur Web Services into day-to-day MSC afloat (and ashore) operations. Since MSC MR/MWS integration may vary according to Program (PM) and/or vessel, specific integration scope and effort requirements will be documented through a customer Technical Interchange Meeting.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decreases due to 1.281 million of FY2027 funds shifted to Project 640212 due to prototype being demonstrated in operational environment. Total cost decreased to 2.123 million in FY2027 from 2.173M in FY2026 due to planned project completion.
FY2026 plans — current year Conduct design activities to include but not limited to staff, operator and crew interviews, site, information technology, and network surveys to better understand Military Sealift Command's (MSC) near, mid and long-term strategic and operational needs. Specific requirements identified will be documented through a customer Technical Interchange Meeting to design, develop, integrate minotaur reach & minotaur web services into day-to-day MSC afloat (and ashore) operations.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2026, Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 630004, (Deployment and Distribution & Prototyping) efforts were transferred to Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 640216, (Deployment and Distribution Innovation) to align with funding with component development and prototypes in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment.
FY2027 planned work Continue to monitor projects progression to ensure costs, schedule, performance.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding increase for contract due to cost of living increases
FY2026 plans — current year Continue to monitor projects progression to ensure costs, schedule, performance.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2026, Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 630004, (Deployment and Distribution & Prototyping) efforts were transferred to Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 640216, (Deployment and Distribution Innovation) to align with funding with component development and prototypes in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment.
FY2027 planned work Continue multiple efforts to increase decision support in support of JDDE missions.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Funding decrease due to effort continues into FY2027 based on new requirements identified in command review.
FY2026 plans — current year Continue multiple efforts to increase decision support in support of JDDE missions.
FY2027 planned work Collaboration partnership with AFIT for student research on transportation/distribution identified issues. Students accomplish varying levels of graduate research through the completion of graduate research projects, theses, and dissertations. USTRANSCOM's deployment and distribution problems provide an excellent opportunity to accomplish worthwhile research at all levels. Student Research at Air Force Institute of Technology.
FY2026 plans — current year Collaboration partnership with AFIT for student research on transportation/distribution identified issues. Students accomplish varying levels of graduate research through the completion of graduate research projects, theses, and dissertations. USTRANSCOM's deployment and distribution problems provide an excellent opportunity to accomplish worthwhile research at all levels. Student Research at Air Force Institute of Technology.
FY2027 planned work Continue program support to explore technology solutions to capability gaps identified through Joint Concept Development documents, the Joint capabilities Integration and Development System process, Joint Experimentation, Force Design/Development to increase the responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of the Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise. Support innovation through technology forums, experimentation events, and project tests/demonstrations.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Slight increase due to year-over-year contract costs of living.
FY2026 plans — current year Continue program support to explore technology solutions to capability gaps identified through Joint Concept Development documents, the Joint capabilities Integration and Development System process, Joint Experimentation, Force Design/Development to increase the responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of the Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise. Support innovation through technology forums, experimentation events, and project tests/demonstrations.
FY2027 planned work A series of process development and improvement initiatives to iteratively improve and expand consistency and quality of outputs from WGs. This will give current operators the ability to inject their expertise into enduring changes which will allow incoming operators to learn the job more quickly.
FY2026 to FY2027 change Decrease due to front loading of development in FY2026, reducing FY2027 costs.
FY2026 plans — current year Continue developing risk-evaluated options and testing solutions for leaders for enhanced integration of air, land, maritime, cyberspace and space domains information. Clarify and document the existing technostructural system, illustrate connections across offices, and enhance the ability for people to share perspectives and collaborate more effectively.
FY2026 plans — current year In FY 2026, Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 630004, (Deployment and Distribution & Prototyping) efforts were transferred to Program 0604776F, (Deployment & Distribution Enterprise R&D), Project 640216, (Deployment and Distribution Innovation) to align with funding with component development and prototypes in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment.