Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/10TRGT/ — built September 26, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
Target Drones
Watch this program
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 | $34.5M |
| FY25 | $37.6M |
| FY26 | $34.2M |
All series figures: P-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 | $112.4M | $113.7M | $34.5M | ||
| Enacted | – | $113.7M | $42.2M | $37.6M | |
| Request | – | – | $42.2M | $37.6M | $34.2M |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2024 book requested $42.2M for FY2024; the PB2026 book reported $34.5M as actual total obligation authority — $7.70M below the request. 34.5 − 42.2 = -7.7 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
Description — Target Drones
Full-scale Aerial Targets (FSAT) and Subscale Aerial Targets (SSAT) assure warfighters' weapon systems will perform effectively against real-world enemy fighters and cruise missiles. Aerial targets provide adherence to Public Law Title 10, Section 2366 "Live Fire/Lethality" developmental/operational test requirements. Target drones are used to validate operational missile/weapon system effectiveness and fighter Operational Flight Program (OFP) updates. Targets are essential for development testing/operational testing for all air-to-air (e.g., AIM-260, AIM-120, AIM-9X, etc.) and surface-to-air missiles (e.g. PAC 3, FIM 92 Stinger), and for the F-35, F-22A, F-18, F-16, F-15, among other aircraft. The objective is to provide threat realistic targets for missile testing to enable the development of offensive counter-air systems (air-to-air and surface-to-air) capable of defeating changing enemy airborne threats. This program provides funding for the procurement and/or sustainment of Air Force Subscale Aerial Targets (BQM-167A - AFSAT), Full-scale Aerial Targets (QF-16 - FSAT), Target Control System (TCS), scoring systems, to include applicable target/TCS subsystems and modernization of mission/support equipment through tech refresh. The TCS program ensures software interoperability among service ranges, the encryption of range/aircraft data links, and associated communication devices. Funds support procurement of hardware and software to support the fielding of modernized Target Control System to support the gaps identified by ACC to enable realistic emulation of 5th and 6th generation enemy threats. Funding also provides for capabilities to meet current and future threats. Funding may be utilized for analysis and presentation of evolving threat scenarios and target area environments related to emerging threats. Funds may be used to requalify production lines, or qualify new ones, as needed. Aerial targets and associated systems are required for congressionally mandated testing and Air Force developmental and operational testing. Air Force is the designated executive agent for full-scale aerial targets. The Navy is the lead service for subscale aerial targets. This requirement supports performance of a full financial audit as required by title 10 U.S.C. Chapter 9A, Sec 240-D. Funding may be used to address production Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS)/Obsolescence issues through studies, bridge buys, life of type buys, supplier/parts replacement and qualification activities to preserve future production capabilities and capacities. The FY 2026 request was reduced by -$1.183 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." Funding for this exhibit contained in PE 0305116F.
Justification
Justification — Target Drones
AFSAT: FY26 funding to be utilized to procure approximately 20 USAF production assets, support equipment, sustaining production, diminishing manufacturing, engineering support, and obsolescence. FY 2024 QF-16 funds used towards the transition from procurement to sustainment and to continue with production shutdown. The QF-16 program is transitioning towards a sustainment-focused posture. While no funds are currently programmed for NOE production re-work installs or production shutdown activities in FY25/FY26. Note: Procurement quantities can change based on negotiated options/pricing bands and available funding, in accordance with Title 10, U.S. Code Section 2308 BUY-TO-BUDGET ACQUISITION.
Budget line items(workbook-cited)
P-1/R-1 workbook Total Obligation Authority basis (USD thousands) · PB2026.
Exhibit P-1
| Account | Org | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY24 Actuals | $34.5M |
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY25 Enacted | $37.6M |
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY26 Disc. Request | $34.2M |
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY26 Total | $34.2M |
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 | FY24 Actuals | FY25 Total | FY26 Base | FY26 Request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Element | $34.5M | $37.6M | $34.2M | $34.2M |
Follow the dollar
Appropriation → program element → top high-confidence awards → recipient families → congressional districts.
Follow-the-dollar covers 312 of 1,938 programs — only high-confidence budget→award links are shown. why coverage is partial? →
The diagram illustrates the cited table below — amounts shown in the diagram are transaction sums per award (no citation chips); the per-district obligations in the table cite USAspending queries.
| District | Program obligations |
|---|---|
| CA-06 | $25.2M |
Related awards
Award linkage is shown for 32 of 200 profiled companies — high- and medium-confidence USAspending matches, each row labeled; medium is the weaker evidence. why partial award coverage? →
| Recipient | PIID | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| KRATOS UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS, INC | FA867815C0069 | high |
Contractor concentration
No concentration index is published for this line. This line's high-confidence links do not clear the floor for a published concentration index — at least 3 awards across 2 contractor families holding positive obligations, with positive net linked dollars. An index below that floor is a fact about the sample, not about the market. Whatever further links this line carries are medium-confidence, and what each medium evidence path does and does not establish is set out in the methodology. Both bases are in the downloadable warehouse.
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 Target Drones. 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: Procurement Programs (P-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit P-1 · O860
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2026_DoD_P-1_Procurement.xlsx.
FY2024 Department of Defense Budget: Procurement Programs (P-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit P-1 · O835
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2024_DoD_P-1_Procurement.xlsx.
FY2025 Department of Defense Budget: Procurement Programs (P-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit P-1 · O879
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2025_DoD_P-1_Procurement.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 Aircraft Procurement, Vol. I · www.saffm.hq.af.mil
PDF page 145