What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 2569 of PE 0604840M. This is the budget justification's own description of work that has not happened yet — the one thing no other level of the budget carries.
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 support of weapons testing (1xF-35A, 1xF-35B and 2xF-35C). Continues FTI design/fabrication/installation (long-lead NRE, parts procurement, kit fabrication) for replacement test aircraft on multiple USG FTI designs. Development, procurement, and installation of flight test data network upgrades to support integrated testing across multiple F-35 stakeholder sites. FTI development, procurement, fabrication and installation or current and future service loaner aircraft to continue Integrated Testing with Service Operational Test organizations. Continue integration and procurement efforts required for Block 4 test mission assets.
When considering the FY2027 mandatory funding in addition to discretionary funding, the funding increase from FY2026 to FY2027 is due to ramp up of non-recurring engineering, part procurement, and installation for FTI and flight science replacement aircraft.
FY2026: the year under way
Prior-year accomplishments and current-year plans from the same exhibit. Context for the FY2027 plan, not a series — an activity partitions its project exactly in the request year, but can under-cover it in earlier years.
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 support of weapons testing (1xF-35A, 1xF-35B and 2xF-35 C). Continues FTI design/fabrication/installation (long-lead NRE, parts procurement, kit fabrication) for replacement test aircraft on multiple USG FTI designs. Development, procurement, and installation of flight test data network upgrades to support integrated testing across multiple F-35 stakeholder sites. FTI development, procurement, fabrication and installation or current and future service loaner aircraft to continue Integrated Testing with Service Operational Test organizations. Continue integration and procurement efforts required for Block 4 test mission assets.
Three years, and no five-year plan
An R-2A activity publishes the prior year, the current year and the budget year. The FYDP outyears exist at project and program-element level and are deliberately absent here rather than inferred. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 60.1 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 68.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 69.2 |
This activity is 49% of project 2569's FY2027 request and 15% of PE 0604840M's. In the request year the activities under a project sum to it exactly; in the current year they under-cover it in about 9% of cases, so an activity's delta can legitimately exceed its parent's and the two must not be compared row to row.
5 activities in project 2569
Every R-2A line of this project, largest FY2027 request first. Linked where the activity has enough of its own narrative to carry a page; the rest are shown in full on the project page.