# Project 673503 — Test and Evaluation (T&E)

**Program element:** 0604840F — F-35 C2D2  
**Project:** 673503  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 7 — Operational System Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F

## Summary

Project 673503 — Test and Evaluation (T&E) requests $284.6M in FY2027, 25% of the $1.13B requested for program element 0604840F, down 1.7% on FY2026. 5 R-2A activities decompose the request. LM is the largest named R-3 performer at $234.7M, 82% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

**Markets:** Test & Evaluation / Industrial Base — matched on the project title only, and no market size is quoted.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 283.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 289.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 284.6 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 276.9 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 265.8 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 234.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 218.0 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0604840F; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 673503 buys

Integrated Test activities in support of C2D2, to include Lockheed Martin support at all test sites. Non-recurring engineering required to plan for the service life extension of existing DT aircraft and modifications necessary to bring DT aircraft fleet to a more production-representative and sustainable configuration, and to develop flight test instrumentation and release test software to meet Block 4 requirements. Additional upgrades required to support development and evaluation of improvements driven by changes in the threat environment and as identified in the Electronic Warfare ICD, the Fifth Generation Fighter Modernization ICD, and the Block 4 Capability Development Document (CDD). Efforts include non-recurring engineering and procurement of a test article to evaluate service life of F-35B STOVL Aircraft. Integrated test also supports the evaluation of upgrades to Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), fielding of Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN) Base Kits, regression testing of fielded weapons upgrades, and various validation/verification efforts. This program element included all necessary 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 elements 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605833F, and 0605898F. Funding allocations at the project level have historically been subject to change due to the complexity of the F-35 budget structure and cost share ratios. The program will ensure any within-PE adjustments during execution year are reflected in future budget submissions. The FY2027 request for Test & Evaluation includes $284,640 thousand of discretionary and $49,384 thousand of mandatory for a total of $334,024 thousand for Flight Science Aircraft and Block 4 capability development.

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

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| LM | 234.7 | 82% |
| Edwards AFB, CA | 25.2 | 8.9% |
| NAWCAD | 15.6 | 5.5% |
| Nellis AFB, NV | 6.4 | 2.3% |

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

## Activities (R-2A) — 5

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Future Flight Test Capabilities/Investments (FI) | 137.4 | 141.8 | 138.3 | −2% | [a3](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a3) |
| Development Foundation Contract (DFC) Flight Test and Tech Refresh | 89.4 | 91.8 | 72.0 | −22% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a0) |
| Developmental Test (DT) | 36.7 | 36.3 | 38.8 | +7% | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a1) |
| Digital Infrastructure (DI) | 3.6 | 7.0 | 21.5 | +208% | [a4](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a4) |
| Operational Test (OT) | 15.9 | 12.8 | 14.1 | +10% | [a2](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a2) |

> 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.

### Future Flight Test Capabilities/Investments (FI)

Continue incrementally funding Flight Science Replacement jets Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) design, procurement, and installation (no fewer than 9 jets) for Lots 19-24, to include the procurement of long-lead parts out of the production long-lead timeframe. Complete incremental funding for Flight Science Lite jets for FTI design in…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a3

### Development Foundation Contract (DFC) Flight Test and Tech Refresh

DFC will provide flight test support for Block 4 capabilities and weapons testing to accelerate delivery of weapons, software, and carrier operating envelopes to the Services. Continues annualized equipment recapitalization of ground support equipment along with technology refresh and specific lab equipment replacement and modernization…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a0

### Developmental Test (DT)

Continue to support Integrated Test capacity and flight test execution (including manpower, weapons, flight hours, range time, and chase, target & tanker support assets) to develop and verify and test capabilities as directed by the F-35 JPO. Major program testing includes Block 4 weapons integration, integrated system evaluations…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a1

### Digital Infrastructure (DI)

Continue Development of Digital Infrastructure (DI) capabilities, accreditation for DT infrastructure used for performance testing, and associated efforts that enable development and test ofF-35 Block 4 Air System Capabilities. DI efforts will be made to both DoD Organic Infrastructure such as integrated battlespace testing improvements…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a4

### Operational Test (OT)

Operational Test activities will continue from FY26 into FY27 under a level-of-effort OT capacity as defined in the Integrated Test Team (ITT) charter and as required to support Block 4 construct's capability releases. These activities may include OT squadron participation in large force fleet-representative exercises or joint force…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840F/673503/a2

## 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/0604840F.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0604840F project 673503 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604840F")`.

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