Adversary

The Adversary line item (LI 0522) in the Department of the Navy's FY 2026 Aircraft Procurement budget funds critical modifications to Navy and Marine Corps adversary aircraft and mission systems. The primary goal of this program is to sustain and enhance the fleet of F-5 Tiger II and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft that provide essential threat replication sorties for advanced air combat training. These aircraft support programs such as TOPGUN, Fleet Replacement Squadrons, Carrier Strike Groups, Carrier Air Wings, and the Unit Deployment Plan, ensuring that naval aviators train against realistic peer adversary capabilities. The modifications funded under this line item are intended to extend aircraft service life, improve safety and reliability, and integrate advanced mission systems for future training needs.

F-5 System Safety and Sustainability OSIP 017-17 focuses on safety updates and required avionics upgrades for the F-5 adversary series. This includes compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards, structural integrity improvements, and addressing obsolescence and Diminishing Manufacturing Source (DMSMS) issues. Key initiatives include the Avionics Reconfiguration & Tactical Enhancement/Modernization for Inventory Standardization (ARTEMIS), which reconfigures repatriated F-5s to USN/USMC standards, installs Mk16 ejection seats, and upgrades digital air data computers and ADS-B systems. These modifications are designed to maintain mission availability, ensure safety, and support evolving cybersecurity requirements.

F-16 SLEP OSIP 011-21 funds the Service Life Extension Program for the Navy's F-16A/B adversary aircraft. The main objective is to extend the operational life of these aircraft through airframe strengthening and air vehicle upgrades. This ensures the fleet remains sufficient to meet operational requirements and prevents aircraft grounding due to fatigue. The program includes the procurement and installation of Structural Augmentation Roadmap kits and other structural modification parts, as well as the establishment of Navy organic depot capability for F-16 maintenance. The SLEP effort is coordinated with Lockheed Martin and is phased to align with Air Force depot capacity and Navy depot establishment.

F-16 Adversary Modernization OSIP 003-22 supports the modernization of F-16C/D aircraft transferred from the Air Force and Air National Guard. The goal is to maintain a common configuration with USAF/ANG Block 30/32 F-16s, maximizing supportability and enhancing adversary capabilities. Upgrades include installation of Active Electronically Scanned Array radars, advanced avionics, Identification Friend or Foe systems, electronic warfare suites, LINK-16, and RedNet situational awareness systems. These improvements are intended to provide advanced threat replication for training and ensure interoperability with Air Force systems. Installation is performed by contract field teams to align with procurement schedules.

Adversary Mission Systems OSIP 004-26 funds the integration of classified mission systems hardware and software into adversary aircraft equipped with Tactical Combat Training System Increment II. The objective is to enable accurate simulation of peer threat capabilities and support participation in Live, Virtual, and Constructive training environments. Key components include Nonembedded Aircraft Processing Systems and RedNet 2.0 architecture, which provide real-time data and modeling/simulation of threat systems. These upgrades are platform-agnostic and allow for advanced physics and effects-based threat replication without modifying the aircraft's operational flight program.

Inactive OSIPs represent prior year totals for modifications that are no longer active but are included for historical tracking. No new funds are requested for these items in FY 2026.