What the FY2027 request buys
Verbatim from the R-2A exhibit for project 643731 of PE 1206410SF. This is the budget justification's own description of work that has not happened yet — the one thing no other level of the budget carries.
Tranche 0 - Conduct residual experimentation in support of Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Transport Risk Reduction. - End-of-life fleet operations Tranche 1 - Complete system level verification and Developmental Testing. - Complete Operational Testing of Transport Layer Tranche 1 (TLT1) capabilities. - Conduct space vehicle command and control, enterprise management, and sustainment for all TLT1 satellites. - Provide continuing support to resilient operational space Transport capabilities including beyond line of sight tactical datalink connectivity, direct downlinks to theater targeting cell, worldwide low-latency high volume data transport, and secure multi-domain optical communications. - Other activities may include, but are not limited to program office support, studies, technical analysis, experimentation, prototyping, exercise participation, etc. Tranche 2 - Complete manufacturing, assembly, integration, and test activities for the Transport Layer Tranche 2 (TLT2) Alpha and Beta space vehicles in preparation for T2 launches. - Continue to support integration studies and mission requirements document development for TLT2 launches. - Fund mission unique hardware and integration of the T2 space vehicles on the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Launch vehicles. - Conduct new capability operational demonstrations for tactical satellite communications (TACSATCOM), Integrated Broadcast Service - LEO (IBS-L), and COSTAR capabilities. - Conduct Transport Layer Ground Operational Readiness Review (GORR). - Conduct Pre-Ship Reviews (PSR) for the transport space vehicles. - Ship space vehicles to launch site and integrate onto the multi-vehicle launch dispensers. - Conduct readiness for launch and early orbit phase operations and transition to nominal operations. - Launch eighteen (18) planes of TLT2 space vehicles (190 total space vehicles). - Conduct on-orbit test and checkout, orbital positioning, and transition operations to the operations centers for initial planes of space vehicles. - Other activities may include, but are not limited to program office support, studies, technical analysis, experimentation, prototyping, etc. Follow-on Tranche Activity - Continue to conduct analysis, pursue technology maturation initiatives, and apply lessons learned to inform on-going and future development and delivery activities for data transport at the tactical edge. Advanced Fire Control (AFC) - Continue execution of other advanced fire control efforts including F2, Warlock, and Goliath. - Demonstrate capabilities, collect data, conduct technical analysis, and mature technologies to inform future Tranche deliveries. - Perform Studies to inform operationalization of demonstration activities.
FY 2027 increases from FY 2026 to support sustainment of Tranche 1 capabilities, Tranche 2 launch and sustainment, and continued ground support activities.
FY2026: the year under way
Prior-year accomplishments and current-year plans from the same exhibit. Context for the FY2027 plan, not a series — an activity partitions its project exactly in the request year, but can under-cover it in earlier years.
Tranche 0 - Continue to leverage Tranche 0 (T0) satellites as a testbed for investigating additional capabilities after Capstone demonstrations. - Begin end-of-life operations on select satellites. Tranche 1 - Complete assembly, integration, and test (AI&T) of Transport space vehicles and payloads in preparation for vehicle launches. - Complete Pre-Ship Reviews (PSR) for the remaining three (3) Transport plane launches and ship space vehicles to launch site - Conduct space vehicle integration onto the multi-vehicle launch dispensers and mate integrated stacks to the launch vehicle. - Fund mission unique hardware and integration of the Tranche 1 (T1) space vehicles on the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Launch vehicles. - Complete readiness for launch, early orbit phase operations, and transition to nominal operations. - Launch remaining (5) planes of Transport Layer T1 (TLT1) space vehicles. - Conduct system level verification and Developmental Testing. - Conduct Operational Testing of TLT1 capabilities. - Conduct space vehicle command and control, enterprise management, and sustainment for all TLT1 satellites. - Begin support to resilient operational space Transport capabilities including beyond line-of-sight tactical datalink connectivity, Direct downlinks to theatre targeting cell; worldwide low-latency high volume data transport, and secure multi-domain optical communications. - Other activities may include, but are not limited to program office support, studies, technical analysis, experimentation, prototyping, exercise participation, etc. Tranche 2 - Continue manufacturing, assembly, integration, and test activities for the Transport Layer Tranche 2 (TLT2) Alpha and Beta space vehicles in preparation for T2 launches. - Support integration studies and mission requirements document development for TLT2 launches. - Fund mission unique hardware and integration of the T2 space vehicles on the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Launch vehicles. - Begin preparations for launch and early orbit checkout and operations phases for TLT2 Alpha and Beta programs. - Begin shipping space vehicles to launch sites and integration with launch vehicles for multi-manifest missions. - Other activities may include, but are not limited to program office support, studies, technical analysis, experimentation, prototyping, etc. Follow-on Tranche Activity - Continue to conduct analysis, pursue technology maturation initiatives, and apply lessons learned to inform on-going and future development and delivery activities for data transport at the tactical edge. Advanced Fire Control (AFC) - Continue execution of other advanced fire control efforts including F2, Warlock, and Goliath. - Continue assembly, integration, and testing of T2TL Gamma space vehicles. - Demonstrate capabilities, collect data, conduct technical analysis, and mature technologies to inform future Tranche deliveries. - Perform Studies to inform operationalization of demonstration activities. Other - Execute Integrated Broadcast Service - Low Earth Orbit (IBS-L) demonstration activities in support of Blackjack. - Develop on-orbit updates testing of IBS-L capability.
Three years, and no five-year plan
An R-2A activity publishes the prior year, the current year and the budget year. The FYDP outyears exist at project and program-element level and are deliberately absent here rather than inferred. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 1,182.8 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 679.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 1,068.5 |
This activity is 100% of project 643731's FY2027 request and 86% of PE 1206410SF's. In the request year the activities under a project sum to it exactly; in the current year they under-cover it in about 9% of cases, so an activity's delta can legitimately exceed its parent's and the two must not be compared row to row.
2 activities in project 643731
Every R-2A line of this project, largest FY2027 request first. Linked where the activity has enough of its own narrative to carry a page; the rest are shown in full on the project page.