The 2010 U.S. defense budget includes about $35.8 billion in classified or "black" programs to produce secret new weapons systems, the second-highest amount ever requested in inflation-adjusted terms for classified acquisitions since 1987.
That's about $18.1 billion in procurement funding, and $17.7 billion in research and development funding for classified technologies, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA), an independent policy research institute based in Washington, D.C.
Here are some key findings from the report:
- Classified acquisitions funding has more than doubled in real terms since 1995, which was the lowest level for such programs after the Cold War.
- Though the dollar amount for classified funding is increasing, the overall share of funding funneled into classified programs has declined since 2003. The report suggests that the primary reason for this decline is higher spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Some technologies produced through classified acquisition programs have been great successes, including reconnaissance satellites, the F-117 stealth fighter, the B-2 stealth bomber and the SR-71 reconnaissance plane.
- Other technologies that have come out of the program have been duds, including the Future Imagery Architecture program – a $4 billion bust – which attempted to create a new generation of spy satellites. Cost overruns and technical problems led to its cancellation.
- The Department of Defense and Congress have difficulty monitoring these classified programs because they receive very limited information about them. Some in Congress argue the Pentagon's classified programs policies should be overhauled to allow more scrutiny. Others say that the process allows some systems and technologies to be developed more quickly.
