# Project 65A039 — WSF-M

**Program element:** 1206422SF — Weather System Follow-on  
**Project:** 65A039  
**Component:** U.S. Space Force  
**Appropriation:** 3620F — RDT&E, Space Force  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206422SF/65A039  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206422SF

## Summary

Project 65A039 — WSF-M requests $32.7M in FY2027, 94% of the $34.8M requested for program element 1206422SF, down 9.1% on FY2026. 3 R-2A activities decompose the request. BAE Systems is the largest named R-3 performer at $18.8M, 57% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 45.5 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 35.9 |
| FY2027 | Request | 32.7 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 23.0 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 0.0 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 0.0 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 1206422SF; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 65A039 buys

The Weather System Follow-on - Microwave (WSF-M) Project 65A039 includes funds for the WSF-M system, the Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR) technology demonstration, and the Energetic Charged Particle (ECP) sensor development. Weather System Follow-on (WSF) is a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) microwave imaging system developed and delivered by the United States Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC). WSF is the next generation of space-based passive microwave sensing technology. It will provide U.S. and Allied warfighters with essential weather data, including the measurement of ocean surface wind speed and direction, ice thickness, snow depth, soil moisture, and local spacecraft energetic charged particle environment. The ocean surface wind speed measurement enables tropical cyclone intensity determination by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The data gathered by WSF will be provided to meteorologists in support of the generation of a wide variety of weather products necessary to conduct mission planning and operations globally. WSF is an Acquisition Category IB program comprised of two Space Vehicles (SV) and their associated command, control, and data dissemination network. Global environmental monitoring data is gathered, stored, and downlinked through the Satellite Control Network (SCN) and disseminated to Air Force and Navy weather centers. Additionally, data is broadcast real time by the satellite for utilization by heritage Direct Readout Terminals that use the data for local weather forecasting. WSF is a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) with the Space Force as the lead component. Founded on the Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) results, the WSF will be to enable: 1) Timely weather collection over broad oceans in support of maneuvering forces. 2) Space weather capabilities to characterize operational orbits, space situational awareness, and the ionosphere. Secondary investments may be supported to address weather gaps identified in the SBEM AoA and validated by the JROC. The Space Force will pursue prototyping of latest commercial industry capabilities for simplified designs to meet the SBEM Gap requirements. COWVR is an on-orbit demonstration project of the new COWVR technology to deliver Weather Gap #3, Ocean Surface Vector Winds (OSVW) and Gap #8, Tropical Cyclone Intensity (TCI).

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

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| BAE Systems | 18.8 | 57% |
| NRL | 4.5 | 14% |
| Booz Allen | 3.3 | 10% |

> Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations. Shares need not reach 100% — unnamed and government work is in the denominator.

## Activities (R-2A) — 3

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSF Microwave Satellite (SV1-2) | 44.0 | 35.6 | 32.7 | −8% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206422SF/65A039/a0) |
| COWVR Tech Demo | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | −100% | — |
| ECP | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — |

> 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.

### WSF Microwave Satellite (SV1-2)

Complete integration and test for WSF-M SV-2. Complete launch preparation activities, including Day-in-the Life and Integrated Crew Exercises. Conduct SV-2 Launch and Early On-orbit Test Activities and post-launch calibration/validation activities. Conduct on-orbit trending analysis factory reach-back and operational support for SV-1 and…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206422SF/65A039/a0

### COWVR Tech Demo

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** FY27 decrease due to end of COWVR activities in FY26.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** Continue COWVR contract closeout activities including final reporting.

### ECP

**FY2026 plans — current year.** The build and integration of the ECP sensor was finished in September 2025. No additional funding specific to ECP is necessary.

## 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/1206422SF.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 1206422SF project 65A039 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="1206422SF")`.

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