# EO/IR Weather System Dev — Program Element 1203710SF

**Program element:** 1203710SF  
**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/1203710SF

## Summary

U.S. Space Force funding ramps 107% to a $144.4M 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 added 5.7% (to $152.7M). General Atomics leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 67.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 69.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 144.4 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 154.3 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 166.2 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 163.2 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 263.6 |

> 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 | 144.4 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 144.4 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 144.4 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 152.7 | +8.3 |

> 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 643730 | EO/IR Weather System Dev | 67.0 | 69.8 | 144.4 | +107% |

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

### Project 643730 — EO/IR Weather System Dev

System Delta 810 is developing Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Weather System (EWS) (Project 643730) for Guardians across the Weather Mission Area. As a result, the Service will deliver space domain awareness capabilities, continue to advance all near term effects, and provide resilient infrastructure, equipment, and personnel. Environmental Monitoring (EM) mission area funding enables development and fielding of the next generation of space-based EM (SBEM) capabilities to replace legacy systems as they reach their mission end of life, and continue global, 24/7, persistent coverages over terrestrial and upper atmosphere meteorological phenomena to enhance battlespace awareness for the theater commanders, protection of national/strategic assets and population centers and provide support to the intelligence community. There are three main system capabilities that comprise the Department of War (DoW) SBEM mission area; electro-optical, microwave and space weather. EO/IR capabilities measure terrestrial meteorological phenomena, as well as 3-dimensional cloud mapping to support air/ground operations and provide support to the intelligence community. Microwave capabilities focus on sea surface conditions, upper atmospheric temperature/moisture profiles and severe storm tracking to support US/allied naval operations and protection of strategic assets/population centers. Space weather monitoring capabilities monitor upper ionospheric regions for charged particles and solar wind phenomena to provide early warning on-orbit asset protection. The SBEM mission area seeks to address DoW weather requirements, as defined in previous Joint Requirements Oversight Council Memo (JROCM) 092-14, dated Sep 2014, encompassing Category A, B and C weather gap needs. In addition, aligned to USSF Chief of Space Operations (CSO) Commercial Space Strategy of 2024, the EM mission area will integrate commercial space capabilities into DoW weather architecture/operations to increase resiliency, capability and competitiveness. In addition to commercial integration, the EM mission area will also maintain persistent theater weather imagery and cloud coverage needs over the Indian Ocean region with Geostationary EO/IR capabilities after EO/IR Weather System Geostationary #2 (EWS-G2) mission end of life.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** General Atomics (28.3, 20%), Booz Allen (2.8, 1.9%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) | 67.0 | 69.8 | 69.0 |
| EM Data as a Service | — | 0.0 | 37.5 |
| Commercial GEO EO/IR | — | 0.0 | 37.9 |

> 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 | 22% | 31.1 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 6.8% | 9.8 |
| Other / unspecified | 72% | 103.6 |

**Top named industry performers:** General Atomics ($28.3M, 20%).

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

System Delta 810 is developing Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Weather System (EWS) (Project 643730) for Guardians across the Weather Mission Area. As a result, the Service will deliver space domain awareness capabilities, continue to advance all near term effects, and provide resilient infrastructure, equipment, and personnel. Environmental Monitoring (EM) mission area funding enables development and fielding of the next generation of space-based EM (SBEM) capabilities to replace legacy systems as they reach their mission end of life, and continue global, 24/7, persistent coverages over terrestrial and upper atmosphere meteorological phenomena to enhance battlespace awareness for the…

In accordance with the approved space-based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) Acquisition Strategy (Sep 2020), the EWS program will continue to use Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to competitively pursue technological advancements in smaller sensor designs and leveraging commercial-based capabilities to develop the most optimal solution to long-term Cloud Characterization and Theater Weather Imagery needs. The Phase II modernized pathfinder efforts will include OTA under Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contracts for technology risk reduction and operational demonstration efforts, while minimizing developmental cost risks.

## Related program elements

- [1206853SF — Next Generation Launch System Investment](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206853SF) (Space Force)
- [0602182A — C3I Applied Research](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602182A) (Army)
- [1206422SF — Weather System Follow-on](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206422SF) (Space Force)
- [0207249F — Advanced Targeting Pod](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0207249F) (Air Force)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 1203710SF (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="1203710SF")`.

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