RDT&E Project · President's Budget PB2027

Air Launched Effects (ALE)

FY2027 Request
$172.8M
▲ 2.1% vs FY2026
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Project A5D — Air Launched Effects (ALE) requests $172.8M in FY2027, 21% of the $816.4M requested for program element 0605345A, up 2.1% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request.

FY2027 Request
$172.8M
▲ 2.1% vs FY2026
FY2026 Enacted
$169.2M
In law
Project detail

What project A5D buys

Launched Effects (LE) are a family of air- and ground-launched unmanned systems designed to autonomously or semi-autonomously deliver mission effects-either as independent agents or as a member of a collaborative networked team. LE extends the speed, range, lethality, and survivability of maneuver formations through the integration of air vehicles, mission systems, payloads, and behaviors. LE will provide Army formations with the ability to expedite and strengthen the kill web, facilitate the penetration and dis-integration the enemy's Anti-Access Area Denial (A2AD) environment and extend the maneuver force's reach, lethality, and survivability. LE efforts are based on requirements from an Army Requirements Oversight Council (AROC), approved Abbreviated-Capability Development Document (A-CDD), approved 19 July 2024, and the Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform SECDEF memorandum signed 30 April 2025. In FY 2026, UAS continued the Urgent Capability Acquisition (UCA) authority requirement and will issue LE capability to every division per 30 April 2025 SECDEF memorandum. In FY 2027 LE will respond to high demand signal from EUCOM, PACOM, and other areas of responsibility for LE. Manned, optionally-manned, and uncrewed systems will penetrate defense-in-depth environments by employing LE with teaming and swarming effects to detect, decoy, jam radar and communications, conduct cyber-attack, spoof and jam Global Positioning System (GPS), and kinetic engagement. The UAS Marketplace expands the Defense Industrial Base, expedites capability delivery, and provides warfighters with vetted, flexible solutions to meet mission requirements. The UAS Marketplaces operationalizes a streamlined acquisition framework for both Programs of Record (PoR) and emerging capabilities, while also serving as the mechanism to demonstrate, assess and perform verifications on a range of UAS solutions. The UAS Marketplace empowers the warfighter at the tactical edge, providing the flexibility to procure vetted, mission-specific UAS solutions. The PM UAS will leverage this centralized marketplace to execute UAS procurements and deliveries, ensuring soldiers are equipped through a modern, efficient, scalable, and capability-validated marketplace.

R-3 lines of work
  • Management Services
  • Product Development
  • Test and Evaluation
Funding trajectory

Project A5D funding, FY2026–FY2031

Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.

501001500169.2FY26ENACTED172.8FY27REQUEST156.6FY28118.0FY29117.9FY30119.1FY31
Enacted Request Outyear (FYDP)
Fiscal YearEstimate TypeAmount ($M)
FY2026Enacted169.2
FY2027Request172.8
FY2028Outyear156.6
FY2029Outyear118.0
FY2030Outyear117.9
FY2031Outyear119.1
Inside the project

1 accomplishment / planned program

The R-2A exhibit — the only level of the budget that describes work that has not happened yet. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only, no five-year plan. Each describes FY2027 work in enough detail to have its own page; the rest are shown here in full. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.

FY2025 actual
FY2026 enacted$169.2M
FY2027 request$172.8M

Funds will be utilized to execute LE System Development for LE Short Range, LE Medium Range, and LE Long Range to include system integration, system test and evaluation, system engineering and program management, and transportation.

Read the FY2027 plan →