# Project 2576 — F-35 USMC Unique

**Program element:** 0604840M — F-35B C2D2  
**Project:** 2576  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 7 — Operational System Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840M/2576  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840M

## Summary

Project 2576 — F-35 USMC Unique requests $22.7M in FY2027, 4.8% of the $469.8M requested for program element 0604840M, down 22% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request. Lockheed Martin is the largest named R-3 performer at $7.0M, 31% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

**Markets:** Combat Aircraft — matched on the project title only, and no market size is quoted.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 17.2 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 29.1 |
| FY2027 | Request | 22.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 25.5 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 25.3 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 24.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 24.5 |

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

## What project 2576 buys

USMC Unique efforts include USMC Operational Testing and government engineering support, as well USMC systems engineering efforts and other emerging USMC requirements to include Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) supply chain optimization. Continuing efforts include: Non-recurring engineering and procurement of a test article to evaluate service life of F-35B STOVL Aircraft; USMC F-35 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) integration, F-35 AI/ML informed maintenance and supply tools, M-31 mobile arresting gear testing, Narrow Runway risk reduction efforts, USMC F-35 contested logistics environment solutions, Lab Based Security Assessment (LBSA) testing for Interim Full Motion Video (iFMV) Cross Domain Solution (CDS) improvements introduced to fulfill NSA requirements for cybersecurity.

**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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lockheed Martin | 7.0 | 31% |

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

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USMC Unique | 17.2 | 29.1 | 22.7 | −22% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840M/2576/a0) |

> 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.

### USMC Unique

FY2027 plans include capability development in collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) paired with F-35. This is critical for the integration and control architecture, which will allow for the procurement of CCA systems to achieve operational capability. The program will continue test planning and F-35B STOVL durability test article build to…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604840M/2576/a0

## 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/0604840M.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0604840M project 2576 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604840M")`.

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