# Project 645620 — Digital Engineering

**Program element:** 1203010SF — Space Force IT, Data Analytics, Digital Solutions  
**Project:** 645620  
**Component:** U.S. Space Force  
**Appropriation:** 3620F — RDT&E, Space Force  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203010SF/645620  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203010SF

## Summary

Project 645620 — Digital Engineering requests $46.0M in FY2027, 100% of the $46.0M requested for program element 1203010SF, up 4.1% on FY2026. 2 R-2A activities decompose the request.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 41.4 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 44.1 |
| FY2027 | Request | 46.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 47.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 43.8 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 44.5 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 45.4 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 1203010SF; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 645620 buys

Project 645620, Digital Engineering (DE), is delivering the Digital Engineering Ecosystem (DEE). DEE is a cloud-based, remotely accessible, Multi-Level-Security (MLS) suite of applications, environments, and infrastructure that is easily scalable and provides the means to develop capabilities, store, access, architect, analyze, and visualize data and models throughout the acquisition life cycle, from requirements planning, development, and production, through sustainment. Digital Engineering (DE) is one of four United States Space Force's (USSF) Focus areas in the Service's digital transformation and is a key enabler. The Space Force was born as a digitally driven organization to meet the need to respond faster to global threats and to act as a force multiplier for the lean Service. The "USSF Vision for a Digital Service," May 2021, signed by the Chief of Space Operations, states that "A key aim of [Digital Engineering] is to manage the complexity of contemporary weapon system acquisition as well as accelerate and modernize the entire capability development lifecycle—from conception to deployment to operations and sustainment.” In support of this vision, this project also funds science, technology, and research study efforts supporting critical operational challenges and collaborating on fundamental advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI). These efforts include creating new algorithms, technologies, analysis tools, and solutions, and informs Department of War decision making on future force structures and capabilities. In one line of effort, this project funds a variety of graduate and post-graduate studies, projects and algorithms to operationalize AI by addressing senior leader sponsored, real-world challenges in Space Domain Awareness (SDA), Command & Control (C2), Advanced Space Training and other missions using the Department of the Air Force-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AI Accelerator. This line of effort has and will continue to transition AI algorithms and tools to USSF operational units. In another line of effort, this project improves how space forces are represented and modeled in Joint and other Services' wargaming and analysis to inform their force structure decisions and operational concepts. The USSF Digital Engineering Ecosystem (DEE) stakeholders are from across the capability development lifecycle.

**R-3 lines of work:** Product Development; Management Services.

## Activities (R-2A) — 2

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Engineering Integration | 34.7 | 37.3 | 38.1 | +2% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203010SF/645620/a0) |
| Science, Technology, and Research Studies | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.8 | +15% | — |

> 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.

### Digital Engineering Integration

Supporting an enterprise DEE architecture. Continue to prototype, develop, test and establish the Secure Facility, networks and systems, tools, and applications hosted on hybrid cloud platform for cloud-computing and database storage. Integrating with USAF Joint Simulation Environment (JSE). Continue integration and leverage Operational…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203010SF/645620/a0

### Science, Technology, and Research Studies

**FY2027 planned work.** Continue partnership with MIT AI Accelerator to fund six graduate scholars and one support contractor at MIT to advance AI integration into high-priority functions like SDA, C2, advanced training, TTPs, etc. Investigate additional technical studies and research based on findings from Space Futures workshops, Center for Naval Analysis reports, MIT LL research, and other sources to provide additional insights into resilient and assured space capabilities. Fund new studies related to emerging technologies. Support interagency science and technology (S&T) partnerships focused on key space technology categories of overlapping interest among the partner organizations. These efforts support continual development of space-based capabilities among the partner organizations. This includes technology assessments as well as research coordination across multiple agencies operating in the space domain. Continue advancing space capability modeling in the BEAM for integration into Office of the Secretary of War (OSW), Joint, and Service wargaming and analysis. Continue development of the USSF Space Enterprise Architecture Modeling to assess the ability of current and planned Space architectures to meet COCOM Joint Mission threads against current and future threats.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY27 increase of $1.012 million is to support studies related to emerging technologies.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Continue partnership with MIT AI Accelerator to fund six graduate scholars and one support contractor at MIT to advance AI integration into high-priority functions like SDA, C2, advanced training, TTPs, etc. Investigate additional technical studies and research based on findings from Space Futures workshops, Center for Naval Analysis reports, MIT LL research, and other sources to provide additional insights into resilient and assured space capabilities. Fund new studies related to emerging technologies. Support interagency science and technology (S&T) partnerships focused on key space technology categories of overlapping interest among the partner organizations. These efforts support continual development of space-based capabilities among the partner organizations. This includes technology assessments as well as research coordination across multiple agencies operating in the space domain. Continue advancing space capability modeling in the BEAM for integration into Office of the Secretary of War (OSW), Joint, and Service wargaming and analysis. Continue development of the USSF Space Enterprise Architecture Modeling to assess the ability of current and planned Space architectures to meet COCOM Joint Mission threads against current and future threats.

## 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/1203010SF.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 1203010SF project 645620 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="1203010SF")`.

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