Military Intelligence Spending Just Posted Biggest Spike in a Decade

Pentagon intelligence spending rose nearly 18 percent over the past year, a sign the military is ramping up its spying-and-intel-gathering activities around the world. While military intelligence spending has risen between two and seven percent since 2016, the increase from $19.2 billion in fiscal 2017 to $22.1 billion in fiscal 2018 represents the largest annual spike since the Pentagon began releasing the figures a decade ago. “Current operations are a huge driver of intelligence spending,” said Travis Sharp, a defense spending analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “The level of resources that are dedicated to supporting [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] activities is pretty substantial.”