Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/0305202F/ — built September 26, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
Dragon U-2
Budget figures
No FY2026 R-1/P-1 request line for this program element. The FY2026 President's Budget request workbook carries no FY2026 line for it; its last workbook figure is FY2024. The PB2026 J-book detail below does carry an FY2026 row for this line, recorded as zero. A workbook blank and a documented zero are different records, and this page shows both. An absent line is not by itself an ending — PB2026 renumbered program elements at scale across the services and defense agencies, so this work may continue under a different number. No successor is linked for this line: this site's program-lineage layer holds no keyed edge pointing forward from here. That is an absence in this site's lineage layer, not a finding about the program: if the J-book narrative on this page describes a realignment, it is quoted below in the document's own words, and this note does not restate it.
FY2026 award data is a partial year — USAspending reports awards on a rolling basis, and this corpus runs through 2026-09-04. why partial FY2026 data? →
Budget trajectory
| Fiscal year | Amount |
|---|---|
| FY24 | $16.8MR-1 TOA · PB2026 |
| FY25 | $0J-book detail · PB2026 |
| FY26 | $0J-book detail · PB2026 |
Decade view
P-1/R-1 workbook TOA basis, shown compact in $B/$M (the workbook records USD thousands); each figure cites its own President's Budget edition
The vertical scale does not start at zero: the baseline sits just below this program’s smallest year, so a low point on this line is not a small amount. Read the shape for direction and the grid below for the figures.
● actuals (line) · ○ enacted · ◇ request — gaps are editions the program is absent from, never interpolated.
| Series | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actuals | $5.51M | $34.5M | $37.2M | $34.5M | $87.6M | $36.4M | $36.6M | $40.7M | $35.2M | $16.8M |
| Enacted | $34.5M | $37.2M | $34.5M | $87.6M | $36.4M | $36.6M | $35.8M | $20.2M | $16.8M | |
| Request | $37.2M | $34.5M | $70.6M | $38.9M | $18.7M | $17.1M | $20.2M | $16.8M |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2022 book requested $17.1M for FY2022; the PB2024 book reported $40.7M as actual total obligation authority — $23.6M above the request. 40.7 − 17.1 = 23.6 USD millions — the compact figures above are rounded for reading.
Program lineage
No predecessor/successor lineage was recorded for this program element — no FY-to-FY transfer into or out of this line was stated in the ingested J-books, and none was inferred from the program structure.
Description
Mission — Sensor Development
The U-2S Dragon Lady platform is a high-demand/low-density aircraft equipped with modular sensor and data link systems providing flexibility and mission essential Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) to the Combatant Commands, Joint and Combined forces, and the Intelligence Community in peacetime and wartime. The program supports core missions such as Sensitive Reconnaissance Operations (outlined in CJCSI 3250.01) supporting the National Defense Strategy, in addition to other missions that include execution of CCMD OPLANs and CONPLANs, Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response (HADR), Counter Violent Extremist Organizations, and third-party treaty verification/monitoring via the OLIVE HARVEST mission. The FY 2025 budget year is the final year that the Air Force has budgeted for the operational capability of the U-2 platform. Previously programmed funds in PE 35202F have been shifted to PE 35206F to support ASARS-2C test/eval and fielding, which will enable vastly improved collection against emerging threats through the remainder of scheduled U-2 operations. This capability and any enhancements will transferable to the broader enterprise. Additionally, the U-2 program will continue to support emergent and/or experimental RDT&E efforts in support of Joint All-Domain Command and Control [JADC2] and Advanced Battle Management System [ABMS] as a platform surrogate for risk reduction in support of SECAF's Operational Imperative-2 as well as surrogate test for RCO capabilities and Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations technology development. This program is in Budget Activity 7, Operational System Development because this budget activity includes development efforts to upgrade systems that have been fielded or have received approval for full rate production and anticipate production funding in the current or subsequent fiscal year.
Justification
Accomplishments & Planned Programs (2)
U-2 Aircraft Update Block 20.1
Aircraft and/or sensor enhancement efforts may include activities such as, but not limited to: trade studies, analysis, preliminary system engineering, system and subsystem testing or demonstrations, sensor specification development, avionics system upgrades, mission planning system software and infrastructure migration, advanced and agile systems, Open Mission Systems and Unmanned Aerospace Systems Command and Control Standard Initiative [OMS/UCI] standards compliance and integration, quick reaction capability [QRC] development, enhanced communications/SIGINT system sustainability and modernization, and tactical data-link [L-16, IBS, IFDL, MADL, etc.] efforts to meet operational requirements for the Air Force.
U-2 Payload Update Block 20.1
Aircraft payload development supports sustainment and/or enhancement development includes activities such as, but not limited to: trade studies, analysis, preliminary system engineering, system and subsystem testing or demonstrations, sensor specification development, Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System [ASARS] development and test, SIGINT and multi-spectral sensor technical refresh integration and test, defensive systems, sensor range improvements, strategic and tactical data link [L-16, IBS, IFDL, MADL, etc.] design and integration.
Budget line items(workbook-cited)
P-1/R-1 workbook Total Obligation Authority basis (USD thousands) · PB2026.
Exhibit R-1
| Account | Org | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force | F | FY24 Actuals | $16.8M |
Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)
J-book detail basis (R-2/P-40, USD millions) · PB2026 — a different accounting basis from the P-1/R-1 workbook TOA above; where the two disagree, the reconciliation strip under Budget figures shows both.
Wider than this screen — swipe the table sideways for the remaining fiscal-year columns.
| Project | All Prior Years | FY24 Actuals | FY25 Total | FY26 Base | FY26 Request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Element | $0 | $16.8M | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 674820: Sensor Development | $0 | $16.8M | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Follow the dollar
No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 312 of 1,938 programs). why coverage is partial? →
Awards
No awards are linked to this program element at high or medium confidence — the budget→award crosswalk only asserts links it can defend, and this line has none yet.
Lobbying mentions
No Senate LDA lobbying filing in the tracked data mentions this program element by code or alias.
Oversight
Department-level designation (not specific to this program)
GAO lists 5 high-risk areas for DOD as a whole. That designation covers the department, not Dragon U-2. No program-specific GAO finding for this line is in the ingested data. See the DOD oversight record.
Program dossier
No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 1,938 programs, the largest fully J-book-detailed lines by FY2026 requested dollars. why no dossier here? →
Primary sources
Open any budget figure for its exact receipt. Verified line items lead with the highlighted government PDF; original spreadsheets download with their budget edition and exhibit in the filename.
Budget totals · TOA sources
FY2026 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J743
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2026_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2017 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J637
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2017_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2018 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J723
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2018_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2019 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J752
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2019_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2020 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J747
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2020_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2021 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J771
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2021_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2022 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J738
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2022_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2023 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J709
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2023_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2024 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J705
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2024_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2025 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J726
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2025_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
Detailed budget justification
The related TOA spreadsheets above use a different accounting basis from R-2/P-40 detail. Their amounts are not assumed to match these detailed sources.
FY2026 Air Force Research and Development Test and Evaluation, Vol. I · www.saffm.hq.af.mil
PDF page 23