# Lifecycle Prototyping

**R-2A activity** of project 645351 — Prototyping  
**Program element:** 0604858F — Tech Transition Program  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force · **Budget Activity:** 4  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604858F/645351/a0  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604858F/645351

## Summary

This activity requests $62.6M in FY2027, 100% of project 645351, up 46% on FY2026. The R-2A exhibit describes it across FY2026–FY2027, including what the FY2027 money is planned to buy.

## What the FY2027 request buys

**FY2027 planned work.** - In FY 2027, FAMM and ETV efforts transition to Program, 0604041F as the program has matured and transitioned to the Program Office. - In FY 2027, conduct rapid prototyping of new capabilities and technologies, furthering military proficiency through Government advancements, commercial technology, and DoW industry. Prototyping areas partner with experimentation on to assess these new technologies across prioritized Mission Engineering Threads, such as Counter-Air (HVAA-Protect, C-UAS), Persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) (MQ-Next, Multi-Mission Autonomy), and Rapid Strike (Long Range Kill Chain, Next Generation Airlift), will guide these efforts. The data generated from these prototypes will be used to make informed decisions regarding potential follow-on development, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and maximizing return on investment.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** - FY 2027 funding increased by $19.586 million compared to FY 2026 due increases in prototype work on new experimentation/prototyping efforts for capability development. This new work will prioritize areas informed by Mission Engineering Threads, such as Counter-Air, Persistent ISR, and Rapid Strike.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) Integrated Development Office (IDO) will complete operational testing of the Rapid Dragon (palletized effects) system (Phase 7 Base and Option 1) while assessing the operational advantages the system provides against peer adversaries. AFMC IDO will continue to work with DAF, Major and Combatant Commands, and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Combat Readiness program office to transition the system and warfighting concept. Rapid Dragon will evaluate and integrate new palletized kinetic and non-kinetic effects into the delivery system in support of Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) and Deployable Intelligence Networked Global Operations (DINGO). The Operational Prototype will be built and integrated into Joint Operations and Allied Partner exercises to understand the operational advantages that can be exploited across services and strategic allied partners. AFMC IDO will continue to work with allied partners to assess the integration of the palletized effects concept in joint coalition exercises. In FY 2026, this effort is funded from reconciliation (low-cost munitions and supply chain). - SAINT work transferred to Project 645352 Architecture Design and Evaluation in FY 2026. - The Modular Weapon Series (M-Series) Enterprise Test Vehicle (ETV) will continue integration of a variety of sub-systems into the ETV test trucks and demonstrate performance through flight testing. ETV Design Cycle 3 will complete Variant 1 development activities, resulting in demonstration of a low-cost cruise missile prototype that could be used as a future affordable mass weapon. Proof of manufacturability demonstrations will be performed to prove out low-cost high-rate distributed manufacturing methods. Demonstrations will be performed to prove out modularity between weapon variants and with third-party vendor components. Additional integrations could include new datalinks, seekers/sensors, navigation and other sub-systems. Demonstrations could include maturing different options for weapon employment, to include palletized employment, fighter/bomber air launch, ground launch, and others. Begin ETV Variant 2 development which could include prototyping activities for affordable mass air-to-air, air- to-surface, hypersonic, and other form-factors/capabilities. In FY 2026, this effort is funded from reconciliation (low-cost munitions and supply chain). - ETV work transfers to Program 0604041F in FY 2027. - FAMM will be a M-Series, open-architected munition for long-range, affordability, high producibility, and palletized employment. FAMM lifecycle prototyping activities will include integration and flight demonstrations of affordable and highly manufacturable small turbine engines, seekers/sensors, networked datalinks, collaborative autonomy behaviors, and ordnance (warhead/fuse). Work will also include testing and certification of palletized mass employment munition flight vehicles. In FY 2026, this effort is funded from reconciliation (low-cost munitions and supply chain). - FAMM work transfers to Program 0604041F in FY 2027. - High Value Airborne Asset (HVAA) Protect partners with defense and the organic industrial base to upgrade legacy mission systems to enhance self-protection capabilities. The goal is to achieve force projection into highly contested environments utilizing existing fleet structure and enhancing HVAA survivability through increased optimization of legacy assets and new technology. Efforts include prototype development, assessment of CONOPs, and demonstration of a cutting-edge prototype protection package for HVAA.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 62.3 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 43.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 62.6 |

> Prior, current and budget year only — an R-2A activity carries no five-year plan. It sums exactly into its project in the request year and not necessarily in any other.

## Other activities in project 645351

- Blended Wing Body - Next Generation Aircraft — FY2027 0.0

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0604858F project 645351 (PB PB2027). Narrative is the government's own text.
- **No marks, no contractors at this grain** — congressional marks land on the program element and R-3 performers on the project.
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_activity`.

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