Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Obama administration plans to spend more money than ever on secret military projects, commonly referred to as the Defense Department’s “black budget.” Just over $50 billion will be allocated, which representing a 3% increase over last year’s total and the highest amount any administration has budgeted for classified programs. To give it some perspective, the U.S. black budget will consume more money than all defense spending in Russia, the U.K., France or Japan. All in all, about 7.5% of the Pentagon’s total spending is now classified.
Although the total amount for the black budget is revealed, its specifics are not. But some details have surfaced, according to Wired, such as an appropriation of $106 million for “Directed Energy Technology,” which the magazine describes as “real-life ray gun research,” although on a larger scal than those used in video games and science fiction. The Pentagon also plans to spend $167 million on “Prompt Global Strike Capability Development,” which means developing weapons that can strike any target in the world in just hours.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Pentagon’s Black Budget Grows to More Than $50 Billion (by Noah Shachtman, Wired)
Black Budget Blows By $50 Billion Mark (by Bill Sweetman, Aviation Week)
List of Countries by Military Expenditures (Wikipedia)
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