# Microelectronics Secure Enclave — Program Element 0605296F

**Program element:** 0605296F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605296F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force funding ramps 117% to a $224.7M request in FY2027, sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House cut 1.8% (to $220.7M); the Senate cut 67% (to $74.7M); House appropriators funded it in full. National Capital Region leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 103.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 224.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 304.4 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 323.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 335.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 342.6 |

> 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 | 224.7 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 220.7 | −4.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 74.7 | −150.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 224.7 | +0.0 |

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

## Projects (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 650020 | Microelectronics Secure Enclave | 0.0 | 103.6 | 224.7 | +117% |

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

### Project 650020 — Microelectronics Secure Enclave

In support of the Secretary of War's priority to rebuild the military through reviving the U.S. defense industrial base, the Microelectronics Secure Enclave (MSE) program office was established inside the Department of the Air Force to provide oversight and direction of the nation's investment in a secure state-of-the-art (SOTA) microelectronics advanced fabrication and packaging capability. Per direction in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, development of a Secure Enclave capability was funded via Federal Financial Assistance (FFA) through the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act (CHIPS Act) of 2022. As part of the FFA requirements, these funds may only be executed by the commercial activity to which they were awarded and may not be used to offset costs for U.S. Government oversight of their execution. Therefore, this program element (PE) provides funding for program office support requirements, including civilian pay and contractor manpower, facilities and other direct costs incident to executing MSE scope of work. In addition, this funding will initiate pilot projects to accelerate the adoption of SOTA microelectronics for integration into critical weapon systems and will invest in sustained production output from the Secure Enclave to support the nation's most sensitive warfighting capabilities. This PE includes necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in PE 0207433F, 0702806F and 0901212F. In FY 2026, $3M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this PE. In FY 2027, $6M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this PE. Additional details may be provided through classified channels. This requirement supports performance of a full financial audit as required by title 10 U.S.C. Chapter 9A, Sec 240-D. This program is in Budget Activity 5, System Development and Demonstration (SDD) because it has passed Milestone B approval and is conducting engineering and manufacturing development tasks aimed at meeting validated requirements prior to full rate production.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** National Capital Region (9.2, 4.1%), SBIR/STTR, USAF (8.2, 3.6%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microelectronics Secure Enclave Execution | 0.0 | 103.6 | 224.7 |

> 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 | 7.7% | 17.3 |
| Other / unspecified | 92% | 207.3 |

**Top named industry performers:** National Capital Region ($9.2M, 4.1%), SBIR/STTR, USAF ($8.2M, 3.6%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

In support of the Secretary of War's priority to rebuild the military through reviving the U.S. defense industrial base, the Microelectronics Secure Enclave (MSE) program office was established inside the Department of the Air Force to provide oversight and direction of the nation's investment in a secure state-of-the-art (SOTA) microelectronics advanced fabrication and packaging capability. Per direction in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, development of a Secure Enclave capability was funded via Federal Financial Assistance (FFA) through the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act (CHIPS Act) of 2022.

Following a reverse industry day and several post-event engagements with various industry and USG partners, the Secure Enclave program office gained substantial insight regarding investment requirements and opportunities. With this insight, the program office developed an informed pilot project acquisition strategy which allows for a flexible approach to cover key use cases, capability testing, and intellectual property development to accelerate the adoption of SOTA microelectronics. Additionally, the program office continues to work closely with the vendor as a sole source to efficiently refine production capacity investment and integration to support the nation's most sensitive warfighting capabilities.

## Related program elements

- [0604679D8Z — Office of Strategic Capital (OSC)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604679D8Z) (Defense-Wide)
- [0605294D8Z — Trusted and Assured Microelectronics](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605294D8Z) (Defense-Wide)
- [0207134F — F-15E Squadrons](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207134F) (Air Force)
- [0605229F — HH-60W](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605229F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0605296F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0605296F")`.

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