Military intelligence budget gets $23B for fiscal 2020

The Pentagon’s classified military intelligence budget received $23.1 billion for the recently ended fiscal year, the department announced Wednesday.

The Pentagon annually announces the top line dollar amount the military intelligence program (MIP) was appropriated by Congress without delving into further detail of how it was spent.

“The department has determined that releasing this top line figure does not jeopardize any classified activities within the MIP,” Wednesday’s statement said. “No other MIP budget figures or program details will be released, as they remain classified for national security reasons.”

The $23.1 billion for fiscal 2020 includes both base budget funding and a war fund known as the Overseas Contingency Operations account.

The funding marks the highest amount for the military intelligence budget since fiscal 2010, when $27 billion was appropriated for the military intelligence budget, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Fiscal 2019’s military intelligence budget was $21.5 billion.

The Pentagon has requested $23 billion for fiscal 2021, for which Congress has yet to approve appropriations.