Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/0603180C/ — data as of August 12, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
Advanced Research
Budget Figures
FY2026 award data is a partial year — USASpending awards are reported on a rolling basis and the fiscal year does not close until September 30. why partial FY2026 data? →
| Fiscal year | Amount |
|---|---|
| FY24 | $61.5M |
| FY25 | $46.9M |
| FY26 | $42.1M |
All series figures: R-1 TOA · PB2026
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 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actuals | $18.5M | $17.0M | $27.2M | $23.8M | $42.1M | $27.2M | $29.6M | $51.3M | $85.0M | $61.5M | ||
| Enacted | $17.4M | $27.7M | $20.2M | $42.6M | $27.7M | $35.0M | $48.0M | $85.3M | $21.5M | $46.9M | ||
| Request | $23.4M | $20.2M | $20.4M | $20.7M | $18.7M | $21.5M | $22.0M | $21.5M | $19.4M | $42.1M |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2023 book requested $22.0M for FY2023; the PB2025 book reported $85.0M as actual total obligation authority — $63.0M above the request. 85.0 − 22.0 = 63.0 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 — Advanced Research
The Advanced Research Program conducts leading edge technology research and development efforts to enable future missile defense capabilities. The Missile Defense Agency executes this mission by capitalizing on the creativity and innovation of the brightest minds in our Nation's universities, small and large businesses, national laboratories, other government agencies, and allied countries. In coordination with identified Agency requirements, Warfighter needs and industry rapid innovation, the program develops/matures, assesses and demonstrates emerging and disruptive component technologies and prototypes. After successful maturation, demonstration, and prototyping activities, the program facilitates transition of the technologies to the Missile Defense System and other programs to defeat the missile threat.
Mission — Advanced Technology Development
The Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Advanced Technology Development Program pursues a broad range of emerging technologies targeted for application into the Missile Defense System. MDA also works to rapidly mature and deliver existing and new technologies and prototypes to provide asymmetric capability to outpace the threat. MDA explores potential new Missile Defense System capabilities by leveraging the creativity and innovation of the Nation's industry, universities, and national laboratories to develop advanced technologies. MDA also pursues advanced technology development through cooperative international research agreements between United States, foreign entities and universities of allied nations. These mechanisms foster a cooperative environment between small businesses, prime contractors, and MDA elements to yield reduced cost and increased returns on investment for successful technology integration efforts. MDA's Advanced Technology Development Project assesses the feasibility and technical performance of the advanced research and development efforts through in-house means and partnerships with Department of Defense and other government agency laboratories. MDA provides independent assessments, demonstration and experimentation environments, and other concept assessment capabilities. The output of the experimentation, demonstration, and laboratory efforts provide risk reduction, transition feasibility, performance assessments, concept assessment data and analysis, and an overall improvement in the state-of-the-art of advanced technology evaluation. The culmination of research, development, assessment, and prototyping is the commercialization and transition of promising technologies into the Missile Defense System.
Mission — Program-Wide Support
PWS contains non-headquarters management costs in support of Missile Defense Agency (MDA) functions and activities across the entire Missile Defense System. These functions include Government Civilians and Contract Support Services. This effort provides integrity and oversight of the Missile Defense System as well as supports MDA in the development and evaluation of technologies that will respond to the changing threat. Additionally, PWS includes personnel to support global deployments performing deployment site preparation and activation, and provides facility capabilities for MDA Executing Agent locations worldwide. Other MDA wide costs include: physical and technical security; civilian drug testing; audit readiness; the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program; legal services and settlements; travel and agency training; office, equipment, vehicle, and warehouse leases; utilities and base operations across multiple geographic locations; commercial and ancillary facility services; management of all facility aspects regardless of lifecycle stage; supplies and maintenance; compliance with statutory environmental requirements; data and unified communications support; materiel and readiness and central property management of equipment; Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) program (formerly Real Property Maintenance) to keep the Department's inventory of facilities in good working order; and similar operating expenses. PWS is allocated on a pro-rata basis across most Agency PEs and therefore fluctuates per PE by FY based on the total Agency budget in that FY.
Justification
Accomplishments & Planned Programs (2)
Advanced Research
This activity funds technology and research initiatives executed through continuous cycles of development, maturation, assessment of component technologies and prototypes identified by emerging weapon and sensor system concepts. Recurring tasks include: - Conduct systems engineering, integration, research, and material solution analysis to identify initiatives and disruptive technology to include missiles, sensors, and command and control components in the defense against current and future threats. - Provide assessment and maturation of critical technologies to address future threat capabilities. - Pursue advanced technology investments for defense against ballistic and non-ballistic hypersonic threats. - Develop breakthrough technology and innovative solutions from private industry, qualified accredited educational institutions, and non-profit organizations to include: -- Additive manufacturing technology initiatives for interceptor propulsion and structural components. -- Materials development, assessment, and processing techniques. -- Advanced threat component technologies. -- Electro-optical and infrared sensor and communication systems. -- Radar and radio frequency communication systems. -- Interceptor and space systems component technologies. -- Left through right of launch integration. -- Red Long Range Kill Chain Defeat Capability. -- Multi-Domain Missile Defense Technology Enhancements. - Assess and evaluate advanced technology investments to extract risk-reduction information and determine transition feasibility. - Leverage the Broad Agency Announcement to address breakthrough technologies and innovative solutions from private industry, qualified accredited educational institutions, and non-profit organizations to include: -- Artificial intelligence related to machine learning, big data, and Decision Theory. -- Computer Science, Signal and Data Processing. -- Directed energy technology. -- Future Missile Defense System concept development. -- Kill Web Algorithms, Probability and Decision Theory. -- Modeling and simulation. -- Optical, infrared, radar and radio frequency sensor systems. -- Phenomenology. -- Develop prototypes to validate new technologies and obtain early feedback from the warfighter. - Utilize NanoSat technology demonstrations and sounding rockets to conduct maturation testing and reduce risk for new and advanced technologies for the Missile Defense System. - Continue to assess incoming innovative technology white papers and pursue awards for those that align with Agency priorities and budget, emphasizing component technologies that address advanced threat challenges. - Leverage university research opportunities including allied nations to enhance Missile Defense System advanced technology initiatives and build stronger relationships with allies and partners. Specific and/or unique accomplishment to each FY are as follows:
Program Wide Support
PWS contains non-headquarters management costs in support of MDA functions and activities across the entire Missile Defense System. These functions include Government Civilians and Contract Support Services. This effort provides integrity and oversight of the Missile Defense System as well as supports MDA in the development and evaluation of technologies that will respond to the changing threat. Additionally, PWS includes personnel to support global deployments performing deployment site preparation and activation, and provides facility capabilities for MDA Executing Agent locations worldwide. Other MDA wide costs include: physical and technical security; civilian drug testing; audit readiness; the STEM program; legal services and settlements; travel and agency training; office, equipment, vehicle, and warehouse leases; utilities and base operations across multiple geographic locations; commercial and ancillary facility services; management of all facility aspects regardless of lifecycle stage; supplies and maintenance; compliance with statutory environmental requirements; data and unified communications support; materiel and readiness and central property management of equipment; the FSRM program to keep the Department's inventory of facilities in good working order; and similar operating expenses. PWS is allocated on a pro-rata basis across most Agency PEs and therefore fluctuates per PE by FY based on the total Agency budget in that FY. Specific and/or unique accomplishments to each FY are as follows:
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, Defense-Wide | MDA | FY24 Actuals | $61.5M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | MDA | FY25 Enacted | $46.9M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | MDA | FY25 Total | $46.9M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | MDA | FY26 Disc. Request | $42.1M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | MDA | FY26 Total | $42.1M |
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 | $344.1M | $61.5M | $46.9M | $42.1M | $42.1M |
| MD25: Advanced Technology Development | $337.3M | $60.8M | $46.1M | $40.6M | $40.6M |
| MD40: Program-Wide Support | $6.77M | $763.0K | $745.0K | $1.46M | $1.46M |
No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 17 of 1,741 programs). why coverage is partial? →
Awards
No awards are linked to this program element at high 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 Advanced Research — no program-specific GAO finding for this line is in the ingested data. See the DOD oversight record.
No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 1,741 programs, the largest fully J-book-detailed lines by FY2026 requested dollars. why no dossier here? →