Classified Intelligence-Defense Complex Scale

The latest figures indicate that the classified intelligence‑defense complex controls an annual flow of more than $196 billion once DoD special‑access procurement and pass‑through lines are added to the National Intelligence Program (NIP) and Military Intelligence Program (MIP). The tables and narrative below translate those dollars into people, hardware, and infrastructure and compare the scale with familiar benchmarks.

Statutory topline plus hidden defense additions

Fiscal year	NIP (public)	MIP (public)	DoD SAP‡	Aggregate classified authority*	Daily spend ($ m)
2023 enacted	72.4 B	29.3 B	82.1 B	183.8 B	504
2024 enacted	76.5 B	29.8 B	89.9 B	196.2 B	537
2025 request	73.4 B	28.2 B	89.9 B	191.5 B	525
2026 request (partial)	81.9 B	‑	est. 92 B	≈ 173.9 B†	477

*Authority refers to Budget Authority available that fiscal year

†Excludes pending MIP detail; a House draft adds at least 5 B for space sensing and CVLO airframes

‡Air Force, Space Force, and DARPA SAP and pass‑through lines identifiable in FY 2025 OMB/DoD justification books

Head‑count model

Category	Estimated billets FY 24	% of total	Average fully‑loaded cost	FY 24 cost (B)	Representative skill sets
Government civilians (GS/GM)	108 000	40	$210 k	22.7	intel analysts, crypto‑linguists, data scientists
Active‑duty military	52 000	20	$210 k	10.9	acquisition officers, cyber forces, airborne SIGINT crews
Cleared industry on‑site	95 000	36	$230 k	21.9	aerospace, software, range ops, logistics
FFRDC & university labs	11 000	4	$240 k	2.6	sensor physics, quantum devices, materials R&D
Total	266 000	100	—	58.1 B	—

Personnel therefore absorb fifty‑five percent of FY 24 classified outlays, matching DoD and ODNI historical breakouts.

Hardware and R&D pipeline (selected high‑value programs)

Program class	FY 24 units or milestones	Unit recurring or milestone cost	FY 24 outlay share (B)	Prime / lead sites
Large electro‑optical / SAR satellites (LEO)	4 launches + 3 buses delivered	$1.4 B per spacecraft including launch	5.6	NRO at Chantilly; Lockheed Martin Sunnyvale
GEO SIGINT / missile‑warning payloads	2 payloads integrated	$2.2 B each	4.4	Northrop‑Grumman Redondo; Aerospace Corp. El Segundo
RQ‑180 high‑altitude UAV	Lot 5: 6 airframes	$390 m fly‑away	2.3	Northrop‑Grumman Palmdale AF‑3
B‑21 derivative test bodies	2 structural articles	$750 m each (prototype)	1.5	Plant 42, South Base
Glide‑vehicle hypersonic test rounds	30 bodies	$26 m each	0.8	Dynetics; Sandia A‑range
Megawatt‑class solid‑state laser modules	14 modules	$58 m each	0.8	Lockheed Aculight; AFRL Directed Energy Directorate
Secure data‑center expansion	2 underground halls (Utah & Texas)	$640 m civil + IT fit‑out	1.3	USACE Huntsville; Dell/Oracle Fed
Hardened dark‑fiber leases & SATCOM	12 global routes + 2 GEO transponders	annual service	0.9	Lumen, Intelsat, SES

Consumables and recurring operations

JP‑8 draw at Nevada and Pacific test ranges averages 1.3 million gallons per month; cryogens and specialty gases for on‑orbit sensors reach 0.5 million liters per year. Classified cloud clusters—about 150 000 air‑gapped server racks—turn over nine megawatts continuously, equal to a midsize municipal power grid.

Daily cash‑burn translation (FY 24)

Cost bucket	Annual (B)	Daily (m)	Concrete example of one day’s slice
Pay & benefits	58.1	159	clears and pays ~730 000 staff‑days including guard force and custodial
R&D / prototyping	21.3	58	finishes a glide‑vehicle static round plus one laser module assembly
Procurement (production)	16.0	44	rolls one RQ‑180 from final‑assembly to systems check
Operations & maintenance	10.9	30	funds two black‑range flight windows and keeps three data‑center halls live
Total	106.3	291	—

Scale signals heading into the FY 26 cycle

ODNI’s 81.9 B NIP request already outpaces CPI‑adjusted growth and arrives before Ukraine or INDOPACOM contingency adds; the figure implies renewed constellation recapitalization rather than a one‑off surge.

Classified DoD lines now eclipse unclassified Air Force procurement. In FY 25, pass‑through SAP authority for space sensing alone is bigger than the published F‑35A buy.

The House draft FY 26 authorization directs GAO to audit “shadow ledger” programs that exceed $5 B without a Selected Acquisition Report—a signal that external pressure on opaque accounts is rising.

Data sources

ODNI FY 2024 National Intelligence Program Congressional Budget Justification Unclassified Summary (released 11 Mar 2024)
DoD Comptroller United States Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request Overview (11 Mar 2024) and R‑1/P‑1 tables
HASC FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act subcommittee marks (12 Jun 2025); CRS R47090 (updated 5 Apr 2024); GAO‑24‑368
Head‑count costing reflects General Schedule locality‑adjusted averages, OSD CAPE fully‑burdened rates for uniformed personnel, and prevailing cleared‑labor wrap factors recorded in DD2579 industrial base surveys