# Project 0568 — RDT&E Acft Flt Hours

**Program element:** 0605863N — RDT&E Ship & Aircraft Support  
**Project:** 0568  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 6 — RDT&E Management Support  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605863N/0568  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605863N

## Summary

Project 0568 — RDT&E Acft Flt Hours requests $44.7M in FY2027, 26% of the $170.7M requested for program element 0605863N, up 3.0% on FY2026. 2 R-2A activities decompose the request.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 43.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 43.4 |
| FY2027 | Request | 44.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 43.5 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 44.3 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 45.1 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 45.9 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0605863N; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 0568 buys

Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Aircraft Flight Hours: This non-acquisition project supports direct flight hour costs, which include aviation fuel and a portion of the costs of Aviation Depot Level Repairables (AVDLR) associated with NAVAIR test pilot proficiency flights, including organizational and intermediate maintenance, associated consumables, including petroleum, oil, lubricants, and spare and replacement parts for components that fail. Annual test pilot flight hours, as delineated in OPNAVINST 3710.7, are satisfied through a combination of program funded test flights, which vary year to year based on program schedules; flights funded through this project unit ensure a baseline level of pilot readiness. These flight hours ensure test pilots remain proficient in assigned type / model / series aircraft in which they are qualified (approximately 3 hours per month) during lulls in program test schedules to ensure proficient test pilots are available to safely support aviation program testing. Readiness hours are designed to provide aircrew with a minimum of 11 flight hours per month, for a total of 133 hours annually. Flight hours support ferry flights to Fleet Readiness Centers for planned depot maintenance, post maintenance, acceptance test flights, aircrew training and test pilot proficiency when test program demand is low, in direct support of Research and Development Programs at Naval Air Systems Command, and Office of Naval Research flight activities. JUSTIFICATION FOR BUDGET ACTIVITY: This program is funded under RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST and EVALUATION MANAGEMENT SUPPORT because it supports efforts directed toward maintaining test pilot readiness in direct support of general research, development, test and evaluation.

## Activities (R-2A) — 2

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVDLR, Consumable POL & Maintenance | 21.1 | 23.1 | 26.6 | +15% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605863N/0568/a0) |
| Readiness Fuel | 21.9 | 20.3 | 18.0 | −11% | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605863N/0568/a1) |

> 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.

### AVDLR, Consumable POL & Maintenance

Provide support for the cost of Aviation Depot Level Repairables (AVDLR), lubricants and consumable and replacement parts in support of test pilot proficiency hours, along with organizational and intermediate-level maintenance, associated with the projected direct readiness flight hour costs in support of NAVAIR test pilot proficiency…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605863N/0568/a0

### Readiness Fuel

Provide fuel in support of RDT&E Test Pilot readiness for over 200 test pilots and associated aircrew assigned to Naval Test Wing Atlantic and Naval Test Wing Pacific developmental test squadrons (VX-20, HX-21, VX-23, UX-24, and VX-31), the S&T squadron (VXS-1), and the range support and test squadron (VX-30). Fuel is funded to 60% of…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605863N/0568/a1

## 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/0605863N.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0605863N project 0568 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0605863N")`.

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