Black budget

From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📖 Term

Contents 5
Black budget
The top-secret documents recently released by Edward Snowden through the Washington Post reveal the funding of the U.S. intelligence agencies. It…
The top-secret documents recently released by Edward Snowden through the Washington Post reveal the funding of the U.S. intelligence agencies. It… Photo: Martin Grandjean · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
TypeTerm
Also known asblack-budget
On the Timeline2 events, 2000–2002

A black budget is government spending on classified or secret operations, such as covert intelligence work and military research. In the United States it funds secret "black projects", and its size and secrecy have made it a frequent element in claims that UFO programs are funded out of public view.[1]

United States

Illustration of official papers and files
Illustration: official papers and files. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

The U.S. black budget pays for classified intelligence activities and secret military research on technologies such as aircraft, weapons and satellites, with details shared only with certain members of Congress. Its exact size is secret, but estimates have put it at about $30 billion in 2008 and about $50 billion in 2009. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden and published by The Washington Post in 2013 showed a $52.8 billion budget for U.S. intelligence agencies in 2012, and in 2018 the administration reportedly requested $81.1 billion for 2019 for national and military intelligence programs.[1][2][3]

Other countries

Illustration of glowing orbs in the sky
Illustration: glowing orbs in the sky. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

Other governments also keep secret budgets: the Philippines' confidential and intelligence funds, Russia's unitemised spending, which rose sharply during its military build-up in the 2010s, Spain's "reserved funds" and Turkey's discretionary funds. Critics argue that such secrecy can enable misuse.[1]

UFO claims

Illustration of lights in formation over the landscape
Illustration: lights in formation over the landscape. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

Advocates of UFO disclosure often argue that secret programs to study or reverse-engineer UFOs could be hidden in classified budgets. No such spending has been documented, and the Pentagon's 2024 AARO historical review found no evidence of UAP reverse-engineering programs.[4]

On the UAP Timeline

Harold Puthoff: Hal Puthoff
Harold Puthoff: Hal Puthoff Photo: CIA · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

References

This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.

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