# Project L39 — Field Sustainment Support Ed

**Program element:** 0604804A — Logistics and Engineer Equipment - Eng Dev  
**Project:** L39  
**Component:** U.S. Army  
**Appropriation:** 2040 — RDT&E, Army  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604804A/L39  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604804A

## Summary

Project L39 — Field Sustainment Support Ed requests $15.3M in FY2027, 24% of the $65.2M requested for program element 0604804A, down 11% on FY2026. 3 R-2A activities decompose the request. PM FSS is the largest named R-3 performer at $1.8M, 12% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 8.6 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 17.2 |
| FY2027 | Request | 15.3 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 17.1 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 17.1 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 17.1 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 9.2 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0604804A; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project L39 buys

This project supports the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) of critical capabilities for cargo aerial delivery for identified theater distribution and services capability gaps, improve unit sustainability, and increase combat effectiveness. Project supports the demonstration of engineering development models and Type Classification of cargo parachutes, airdrop containers, sling load equipment, and other aerial delivery equipment to improve safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of airborne operations. This project develops critical enablers that support the Army in executing future movement and maneuver operations and distributed sustainment support. This project also ensures Army Expeditionary Forces are capable of rapid deployment by providing aerial delivery initiatives and reduces sustainment requirements, related Combat Support/Combat Service Support (CS/CSS) demands in lift, combat zone footprint, and costs for logistical support. Funding supports modernization of cargo aerial delivery portfolio, enabling contested logistics aerial delivery in anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) by dramatically increasing range of aerial delivery vehicles and allowing them to be employed in contested environments. Additionally, funding supports developing initial prototypes to enable refinement of operational requirements and early user feedback to support future sustainment and operational movement concepts.

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

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| PM FSS | 1.8 | 12% |

> Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations. Shares need not reach 100% — unnamed and government work is in the denominator.

## Activities (R-2A) — 3

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) | 3.9 | 12.0 | 11.1 | −8% | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604804A/L39/a1) |
| Rapid Rigging and De-Rigging Airdrop System (RRDAS) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1% | — |
| Sustainment Aerial Delivery Equipment - Sling Load (SADE-SL) | 1.1 | 2.2 | 1.2 | −44% | — |

> 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.

### Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS)

Finish development phase and conduct validation testing of JPADS V4 and Long Range JPADS 2K.

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604804A/L39/a1

### Rapid Rigging and De-Rigging Airdrop System (RRDAS)

**FY2027 planned work.** Complete RRDAS-Heavy DT and Initiate RRDAS-Heavy OT.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY27 increase due to completion of DT and initiation of OT.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** RRDAS - Light MSC TC/FMR and incorporate engineering change proposal in 2QFY26. RRDAS - Heavy initiate developmental testing.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** Develop RRDAS Heavy design to reach Critical Design Review. Initiate Design Validation Testing. Begin logistics support development for RRDAS Heavy.

### Sustainment Aerial Delivery Equipment - Sling Load (SADE-SL)

**FY2027 planned work.** Complete DT/OT for SADE-SL (Low-Cost Nets, and Low Cost Sing Sets)

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Decrease due to completing DT and OT earlier in FY27.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Initiate DT/OT for sling sets, payload stabilization device. Complete user surveys for enhanced speedbag. Initiate testing for Cargo Nets. Develop and fabricate protypes for Low-Cost Nets.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** Begin development of the 4 SADE-SL capabilities. This includes getting the vendors under contract and maturing the designs of the Payload Stabilization, Low-Cost Slings, and Low-Cost Cargo Nets, and Enhanced Speed Bag. Additionally, the TMs for these capabilities will be initiated for new capabilities and revised for mature technologies.

## 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/0604804A.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Army RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0604804A project L39 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604804A")`.

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