Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/0601102SF/ — built September 26, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
Defense Research Sciences
Budget figures
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 | $19.6M |
| FY25 | $21.3M |
| FY26 | $22.3M |
All series figures: R-1 TOA · 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 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actuals | $0 | $24.4M | $19.6M | ||
| Enacted | – | $25.0M | – | $21.3M | |
| Request | – | – | $0 | $21.3M | $22.3M |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2024 book requested $0 for FY2024; the PB2026 book reported $19.6M as actual total obligation authority — $19.6M above the request. 19.6 − 0.0 = 19.6 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 — Defense Research Sciences - Space
Defense Research Sciences consists of research activities in academia and industry along with research performed in the Department of the Air Force (DAF), including the Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Institute of Technology, and the United States Air Force Academy. This program supports basic broad-based scientific and engineering research in areas critical to the five core technical competencies of the United States Space Force: Space Security; Combat Power Projection; Space Mobility and Logistics; Information Mobility; and Space Domain Awareness, while simultaneously building capacity in academia and cultivating the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) pipeline. All research areas are subject to long-range planning and technical review by both DAF and tri-Service scientific planning groups. Efforts in this program have been coordinated through the Department of Defense (DoD) Science and Technology (S&T) Executive Committee process to harmonize efforts and eliminate duplication. This program is executed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). AFRL is focused on high-impact, multi-domain science and technology (S&T) solutions that propel innovation today and support the Air and Space Force in securing dominance in future operational environments. AFRL effectively aligns the Department of the Air Force (DAF) S&T enterprise and workforce towards the most consequential DAF priorities to accelerate the delivery of game-changing S&T. In order to manage, execute, and deliver science and technology capabilities, this program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses; expenses to support the operation and maintenance of facilities; as well as expenses related to travel, supplies, IT hardware, software and support, administrative contractor services, etc. Funds in this program element may be used to investigate specified science advancements primarily targeted to challenges in the space domain and multi-domain research with space-domain application. The FY 2026 request was increased by 0.921 million for Advisory and Assistance Services to promote efficiencies and advance the policies of the Administration in alignment with Executive Order 14222, Implementing the President's Department of Government Efficiency Cost Efficiency Initiative. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) utilizes 10 USC 4091, "Authorities for certain positions at science and technology reinvention laboratories” to manage the workforce strength, structure, positions, and compensation without regard to any limitation on appointments, positions, or funding in a manner consistent with the budget. This program is in Budget Activity 1, Basic Research because this budget activity includes scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in those fields of the physical, engineering, environmental, and life sciences related to long-term national security needs.
Justification
Accomplishments & Planned Programs (2)
Space-focused Basic Research
Foster basic research discovery in physical and biological sciences that enhance U.S. Space Force's ability to conduct global space operations.
Leveraging International S&T for DAF Advantage
Foster international basic research discovery by supporting direct interchanges with a broad range of key international researchers and communities. Identify and leverage international scientific advances when appropriate.
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, Space Force | F | FY24 Actuals | $19.6M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY25 Enacted | $21.3M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY25 Total | $21.3M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY26 Disc. Request | $22.3M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY26 Total | $22.3M |
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 | $19.6M | $21.3M | $22.3M | $22.3M |
| 610001: Defense Research Sciences - Space | $0 | $19.6M | $21.3M | $22.3M | $22.3M |
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 Defense Research Sciences. 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 · J778
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2026_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2024 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J738
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 · J759
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 Space Force Research and Development Test and Evaluation · www.saffm.hq.af.mil
PDF page 39