CS Knowledge Base

A black project is a highly classified, top-secret military or defense project that is not publicly acknowledged by a government.^[1]

In the United States, the formal term for a black project is an unacknowledged special access program (SAP). Black projects receive their funding from the black budget.^{[citation needed]}

Black projects in the United States are authorized by the CIA Act, allowing the CIA to appropriate money without congressional justification.^[1]

Black projects can include weapons, reconnaissance systems, and satellite operations.^[1]

The US depends on private defense contractors to develop and build military equipment. The two most notable examples are Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The R&D department of Lockheed Martin is commonly referred to as Skunk Works; it is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, highly classified R&D programs, and exotic aircraft platforms.^{[citation needed]}

Two well known sites for testing of black projects are the Nevada Test site and Area 51.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007 the US was estimated to spend about $30 billion dollars annually on black projects.^[1] In 2011 it was about $56 billion.^[2] However, black project funding is deliberately obscured, and some is hidden through the budgets of other agencies.

Below are examples of previously unacknowledged black projects categorized per country.

• Black operation
• Compartmentalization (information security)
• Open secret
• List of established military terms
• List of government and military acronyms
• Glossary of military abbreviations
• List of U.S. security clearance terms