https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated December 15, 2021
Defense Primer: Future Years Defense Program (FYDP)
Background
The Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) is a projection
of the forces, resources, and programs to support
Department of Defense (DOD) operations. The FYDP is
compiled every year and typically completed during the
programming phase of the Planning, Programming,
Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process. The projection
is updated during the budgeting phase to reflect DOD’s
final funding decisions presented in the annual President’s
budget request.
The FYDP reflects the planned allocation of DOD
resources to major strategic efforts over a multiyear period.
According to the department’s Future Years Defense
Program (FYDP) Structure Handbook, the FYDP is
intended in part to link DOD’s internal review structure for
programs with Congress’s review structure for resources,
including funding.
The FYDP projects DOD funding, manpower, and force
structure needs over a five-year period. The projection is
typically depicted with defense resources for the two
previous fiscal years and force structure estimates for the
three subsequent fiscal years. For example, the FY2021
FYDP reflects FY2019 and FY2020 appropriations, the
current budget year estimate (FY2021) as part of the five-
year program (FY2021-FY2025), and the estimated force
structure through FY2028. See Figure 1.
Figure 1. FY2021 FYDP Period
Source: CRS graphic based on DOD Directive 7045.14.
Primarily used as a planning tool, the FYDP allows DOD
and the military services to plan for anticipated changes to
programs or priorities. Such changes may include
reallocating funding for a major defense acquisition
program transitioning from research and development to
procurement; shifting funding from multiple programs to a
larger, higher-priority procurement; or identifying funding
for an emerging priority expected to require resourcing over
a period of multiple years.
DOD Financial Management Regulation describes the
FYDP as “a series of reports that record and display
resource decisions” during the PPBE cycle. FYDP data are
stored in a relational database. Users can enter, update, and
view their organization’s portion of the FYDP through a
web-based application hosted on the department’s classified
network.
Section 221 of Title 10, U.S. Code, stipulates that the
Secretary of Defense shall submit a FYDP to Congress in
conjunction with the President’s budget request. A
classified version of the FYDP is generally submitted to the
congressional committees with jurisdiction over defense
matters. Section 1042 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (P.L. 115-91)
amended 10 U.S.C. §221 in part to require the Secretary to
submit an unclassified electronic version of the FYDP.
While the structure of the FYDP is unclassified, the actual
FYDP data remains classified. DOD has proposed
removing the statutory requirement to submit an
unclassified FYDP to avoid inadvertently revealing
sensitive information about weapons development, force
structure, and strategic plans.
FYDP Organization and Content
The FYDP can be viewed as a way to link DOD resources
(or inputs) to programs (or outputs). As such, the FYDP can
serve to compare or crosswalk the department’s output-
focused internal review structure with the input-focused
congressional review structure.
The FYDP tracks the three broad categories of resources
available to the DOD as its inputs:
Total Obligatory Authority (TOA) – Appropriated
funding, in thousands of dollars;
Manpower – Military end-strength and civilian full-
time equivalent work years; and
Forces – Identified as either items of equipment or
combat units.
FYDP outputs are currently grouped under 12 Major Force
Programs (MFPs). An MFP is an aggregation of the
resources (TOA, Manpower, and Forces) necessary to
achieve DOD’s objective or plans. Currently, six of the
MFPs are considered combat force programs and six are
considered support programs.
MFP 01* - Strategic Forces
MFP 02* - General Purpose Forces
MFP 03* - Command, Control, Communications,
Intelligence, and Space
MFP 04* - Mobility Forces
MFP 05* - Guard and Reserve Forces
MFP 06 - Research and Development
MFP 07 - Central Supply and Maintenance
