Defense

Pentagon funding request reveals classified Black Hawk mission over DC

The Army is carrying out a classified mission involving Black Hawk helicopters flying over the Washington, D.C., area, the Pentagon has revealed through funding documents.

The secret operation, included in the Defense Department’s annual reprogram request to Congress, asks for permission to move funds to support an “emerging classified flight mission,” Bloomberg first reported.

{mosads}The Army needs $1.55 million shifted for maintenance of 10 UH-60 Black Hawks, for aircrews and for travel in a mission that includes active-duty and reserve troops.

The extra dollars are also needed for a “Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility” at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, Va., directly south of Washington.

“Without additional funding, the Army will not be able to perform this classified mission,” the Defense Department notes in the documents.

An Army spokesman told The Hill that the classified mission began in the early part of fiscal 2019, which started Oct. 1, 2018, that it is currently in operation and that its length is undetermined. He would not give further details.