# Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) — Program Element 0604873C

**Program element:** 0604873C  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604873C

## Summary

Defense-Wide funding ramps 124% to a $125.1M request in FY2027, sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators cut 6.3% (to $117.1M). Lockheed Martin leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 95.6 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 55.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 125.1 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 208.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 204.1 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 182.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 144.9 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 125.1 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 125.1 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 125.1 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 117.1 | −7.9 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD96 | Long Range Discrim Radar (LRDR) | 91.7 | 53.8 | 121.1 | +125% |
| MD40 | Program Wide Support | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4.0 | +92% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project MD96 — Long Range Discrim Radar (LRDR)

The LRDR program is a crucial component of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) mission, playing a significant role in the development and deployment of a layered Missile Defense System. This system is designed to defend the homeland from missile attacks of all ranges, in all phases of flight. The LRDR's contribution provides persistent long-range midcourse discrimination, precision tracking and hit assessment, thereby enhancing the Missile Defense System Homeland Defense Capability. Additionally, the LRDR program supports the United States Space Force's (USSF) Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Space Object Identification (SOI) mission areas, further underlining its importance. The LRDR Program Element includes the requirements to design, develop, integrate, deliver, field, and sustain the LRDR. The LRDR operates in the S-band frequency with a scalable and open systems architecture to mitigate evolving threats and integrates into the Missile Defense System through the Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system. The LRDR will incorporate discrimination improvements to enhance its effectiveness against advancing threats by discriminating and identifying re-entry vehicles with a higher degree of confidence to improve system performance and conserve ground-based interceptor inventory. The LRDR is comprised of an equipment shelter, two radar array faces, a mission control facility for radar operations, and supporting facilities and infrastructure. The Secretary of the Air Force approved Clear Space Force Station (CSFS), formerly known as Clear Air Force Station, AK as the LRDR site. The USSF Space Operations Command is the designated Lead Major Command. LRDR completed initial fielding on December 6, 2021. MDA pursued an incremental fielding approach in cooperation with the Northern Command, the Space Command, and the USSF. Early use fielding of the LRDR SDA capability occurred on March 27, 2024. LRDR was added to the Missile Defense System Operational Capability List (OCL) for SDA on December 20, 2024. LRDR Homeland Defense capability is planned to be added to the OCL in 3Q FY 2025. Operational Acceptance (OA) by the USSF is scheduled for 4Q fiscal year (FY) 2025 following the completion of the LRDR Homeland Defense trial period and the operational Flight Test Other (FTX)-26a.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Lockheed Martin (45.4, 37%), STRATEGIC ALLIANCE SOLUTIONS (1.3, 1.1%), AI SOLUTIONS (0.6, 0.5%), STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BUSINESS GROUP (0.3, 0.3%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) | 91.7 | 53.8 | 121.1 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

### Project MD40 — Program Wide Support

PWS contains non-headquarters management costs in support of Missile Defense Agency (MDA) functions and activities across the entire Missile Defense System. These functions include Government Civilians and Contract Support Services. This effort provides integrity and oversight of the Missile Defense System, as well as supports MDA in the development and evaluation of technologies that will respond to the changing threat. Additionally, PWS includes personnel to support global deployments performing deployment site preparation and activation, and provides facility capabilities for MDA Executing Agent locations worldwide. Other MDA wide costs include: physical and technical security; civilian drug testing; audit readiness; the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program; legal services and settlements; travel and agency training; office, equipment, vehicle, and warehouse leases; utilities and base operations across multiple geographic locations; commercial and ancillary facility services; management of all facility aspects regardless of lifecycle stage; supplies and maintenance; compliance with statutory environmental requirements; data and unified communications support; materiel and readiness and central property management of equipment; Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) program (formerly Real Property Maintenance) to keep the Department's inventory of facilities in good working order; and similar operating expenses. PWS is allocated on a pro-rata basis across most Agency PEs and, therefore, fluctuates per PE by FY based on the total Agency budget in that FY.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program Wide Support | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4.0 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 38% | 47.6 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 19% | 23.5 |
| Other / unspecified | 43% | 54.1 |

**Top named industry performers:** Lockheed Martin ($45.4M, 36%).

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The LRDR program is a crucial component of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) mission, playing a significant role in the development and deployment of a layered Missile Defense System. This system is designed to defend the homeland from missile attacks of all ranges, in all phases of flight. The LRDR's contribution provides persistent long-range midcourse discrimination, precision tracking and hit assessment, thereby enhancing the Missile Defense System Homeland Defense Capability. Additionally, the LRDR program supports the United States Space Force's (USSF) Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Space Object Identification (SOI) mission area, further underlining its importance.

The approved LRDR acquisition strategy incorporates robust acquisition practices to ensure delivery of a best-value solution that meets mission performance requirements and reduces lifecycle costs. The MDA awarded a fixed-price incentive contract to Lockheed Martin (LM) Corporation of Moorestown, NJ, on October 21, 2015, to design, develop, manufacture, integrate and test, and field the LRDR prime mission equipment. The prime contract included other fixed-price and cost-reimbursable line items and options to balance acquisition costs and risks. Performance and cost incentives were included to motivate contractor performance.

## Related program elements

- [0604501N — Advanced Above Water Sensors](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604501N) (Navy)
- [0606002A — Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0606002A) (Army)
- [0603884C — Ballistic Missile Defense Sensors](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603884C) (Defense-Wide)
- [0302060F — Looking Glass Next (LG-N))](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0302060F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604873C (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604873C")`.

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