Future Naval Capabilities Applied Research

Abstract

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) works closely across the Department of the Navy (DON) and Naval Research Enterprise (NRE) to develop warfighting capabilities that address operational force's highest priorities. While leveraging technology innovation is critical to maintaining a decisive edge, maintaining a pipeline of new capabilities requires balancing flexibility and risk, in order to deliver solutions to known requirements, and experiment with potential game-changing ideas informed by higher DoN and DoD guidance. This PE funds Future Naval Capabilities (FNC) Technology Candidates, which are at lower Technology Readiness Level (TRLs), and is focused on maturing technologies to higher TRLs to reduce FNC transition risk. Efforts in this PE are coordinated with related work in the USMC Technology Candidates Activity of PE 0602131M Marine Corps Landing Force Technology. This Program Element (PE) funds Applied Research, which is the systematic study to understand the means to meet a recognized and specific need. Most of the work in this PE can be classified between TRL 2 (technology concept and/or application formulation) and TRL 4 (component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environments). The FNC Program favors a high level of collaboration. PE projects and R-2A planned programs are mostly organized by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science and Technology research focus areas. ONR Departments are tasked to collaborate with the acquisition stakeholders and their resource sponsors. A complete accounting of the technology candidates being developed, and a full disposition of each technology development effort funded in this PE is provided annually to the Congressional oversight committees. Due to the number of efforts in this PE, the programs described herein are representative of the work included in this PE.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2025
• Source ID: 0602750N_2_1319_PB_2025
• Change Summary Explanation: Funding: The funding decrease is due to a reduction in S&T Applied Research, primarily a reduced investment in research efforts focusing on: Surveillance, Sensors, and Phenomenology; Environmental Information Warfare; Platform Design and Engineering; and Kinetic Weapons. This reduction was required in order to comply with the Defense Planning Guidance. A new project structure was created to promote greater transparency and execution oversight for the 6.2 Future Naval Capabilities in the Department of the Navy's annual budget request. Projects 1385, 1386, 1388, 1389, 1391-1396, 1399-1401 and 5893 were previously funded in this PE, 0603673N, PU 0000 and are not new starts. Technical: No significant change Schedule: No significant change
• Service Agency Name: Navy

Entities

Organizations

• United States Navy

Tags

Readers

• Defense Technology Research and Development.
• Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies
• Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.