# Next Generation OPIR — Program Element 1206442SF

**Program element:** 1206442SF  
**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/1206442SF

## Summary

U.S. Space Force requests $209.9M 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 funded it in full. Booz Allen leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 191.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 189.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 209.9 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 221.2 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 223.4 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 228.3 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 232.9 |

> 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 | 209.9 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 209.9 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 209.9 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 209.9 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 657009 | Space Mod Initiative | 158.7 | 160.1 | 179.5 | +12% |
| 657123 | Integration | 32.2 | 29.5 | 30.4 | +3% |

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

### Project 657009 — Space Mod Initiative

Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Space Modernization Initiative (SMI) (Project 657009): To better enable response to emerging global missile threats, SMI advances critical capabilities and reduces risk through five major thrust areas: Demonstrations/Prototypes, Technology Maturation, Data Processing & Analytics, Wide Field of View (WFOV) On-Orbit Testbed Mission Integration, and Capability Exploitation, each with a flagship investment. Demonstrations rapidly prototype new game-changing technologies for the broader mission warning enterprise by delivering ground and on-orbit prototypes. Demonstrations also advance OPIR capabilities for missile warning and tracking ensuring a low risk, smooth transition of advanced technology to future operational systems. Technology Maturation focuses investments on high pay-off critical components to reduce production risks and development costs. Technology Maturation also focuses development on advanced Infrared (IR) sensing optics and electronics, resiliency hardware and software, and on-board processing algorithms and on-board computers. Data Processing & Analytics provides return-on-investment aimed at ingestion and fusion of current and future proliferated sensor program data to enhance missile warning, missile defense, battlespace awareness and technical intelligence mission capabilities. This includes the processing and exploitation of legacy Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) wideband data and its fusion with Wide Field of View (WFOV) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) wideband sensor. Subsequently, this work will expand to include the ingestion and fusion of WFOV Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Next-Gen GEO, Resilient Missile Warning/Missile Tracking (MW/MT) Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) and other data as it becomes available as well as overcoming the proliferated sensor challenges expected with the large volumes of data and tracks that could overwhelm the enterprise and operators. Data Processing & Analytics will focus on automation and innovation to overcome these challenges to include Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) that reduce cognitive workload reduction of the operators.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Booz Allen (1.2, 0.7%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demonstrations/Prototypes | 30.4 | 46.8 | 38.5 |
| Technology Maturation | 35.2 | 10.9 | 24.6 |
| Data Processing & Analytics | 93.2 | 83.9 | 78.1 |
| Wide Field of View (WFOV) On-Orbit Testbed Mission Integration | — | 18.5 | 18.2 |
| Capability Exploitation | — | — | 20.0 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

### Project 657123 — Integration

The Government works with the Enterprise System Engineering & Integration (SE&I) contractor as a team to define the Next-Gen OPIR enterprise architecture, control and validate interfaces, ensure compatibility of Next-Gen OPIR systems, and develop/manage plans for fielding the Next-Gen OPIR segments. Further, the Enterprise SE&I executes system-level integration requirements between segments such as Space to Ground. This differs from integration within each segment; integration within segments refers to subsystem-level integration between subsystems such as a spacecraft bus to the mission payload. The Government Integrator is responsible for defining the Next-Gen OPIR enterprise architecture, controls and validates interfaces, ensures compatibility of Next-Gen OPIR systems, and develops/manages plans for fielding the Next-Gen OPIR Enterprise. Further, the Integrator executes Model Based System Engineering (MBSE) through modeling, simulation, and technical analyses of Government-directed enterprise level trades among the Next-Gen OPIR segments. These trades lead to definition, management, maintenance, and evolution of the Next-Gen OPIR Enterprise technical requirements and interface documents to ensure the integrity of the enterprise technical baseline. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver Next-Gen OPIR weapon system capabilities. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 1206392SF and 1206389SF.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next-Gen OPIR Integration | 32.2 | 29.5 | 30.4 |

> 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 | 0.6% | 1.2 |
| Government labs & warfare centers | 7.0% | 14.6 |
| Other / unspecified | 92% | 194.0 |

**Top named industry performers:** .

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

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The program office is developing and prototyping the Resilient Next Generation OPIR (Projects 657009 & 657123) for Guardians across Missile Warning and Missile Tracking (MW/MT) mission area. As a result, the Service will deter, neutralize, defeat and/or destroy counterspace threats and defend the homeland. The Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) program succeeds the current Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) and will provide improved missile warning, missile defense, battlespace awareness, and technical intelligence collection capabilities that are more survivable against emerging adversary threats.

The program office will use a variety of acquisition approaches to execute various concept studies, technology maturation efforts, testbed/prototype demonstrations, data processing & analytics, and capability exploitation initiatives and projects. The program office will collaborate with appropriate contracting agencies to support each individual effort. Data Processing & Analytics efforts in the Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Tools, Applications, and Processing (TAP) Lab and the Overhead Persistent Infrared Battlespace Awareness Center (OBAC) will leverage existing external contracts, as well as new internal competitive contracts.

## Related program elements

- [1206443SF — Next-Gen OPIR Space GEO](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206443SF) (Space Force)
- [1206440SF — Next-Gen OPIR -- Ground](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206440SF) (Space Force)
- [0603176C — Advanced Concepts and Performance Assessment](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603176C) (Defense-Wide)
- [0603662D8Z — Networked Communications Capability](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603662D8Z) (Defense-Wide)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 1206442SF (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="1206442SF")`.

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