Pentagon announces US military intelligence budget of $30.9 billion — Breaking Defense

In Washington, the Pentagon reported that the budget of the US Military Intelligence Program (MIP) for fiscal year 2026 amounted to $30.9 billion. This is approximately $3 billion more than in fiscal year 2025, but $2.7 billion less than the $33.6 billion request for fiscal year 2026.

In a brief statement, the US Department of Defense said that the funding is consistent with the National Defense Strategy. At the same time, the department did not disclose a detailed breakdown of the funds, explaining that the information is classified for national security reasons, Breaking Defense reports.

Separate national intelligence budget

At the same time, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced the budget of the National Intelligence Program (NIP) at $78.1 billion. This amount is nearly $5 billion higher than the previous year's figure, but lower than the $81.9 billion request for fiscal year 2026.

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The NIP is overseen by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and funds strategic intelligence collection for officials. The program includes, among others, the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Different tasks of the programs

The MIP is managed by the Pentagon; it funds defense intelligence activities to support operational and tactical priorities of defense operations. The US intelligence community includes 18 entities, including nine components of the Department of Defense and nine agencies outside it, including the CIA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the intelligence unit of the Treasury Department.

At the same time, the NIP and MIP do not cover all US intelligence spending. In particular, the MIP does not include certain intelligence-related platforms, such as some drone programs, if intelligence collection is not their primary purpose.