Keeping Programs in the Black

The Stealth bomber and other weapons are funded stealthily

Because of its shape and magic electronic gadgetry, the proposed Stealth bomber is supposed to be all but invisible to enemy radar. Fittingly enough, the supersecret project has been funded with stealth as well: its budget is all but invisible even to the Congressmen who must approve military funding. In Pentagon parlance, the bomber is one of the rapidly growing number of "black" programs. Because the programs are classified at levels above top secret, only a few select congressional committee members and a handful of staffers are allowed to analyze the numbers or even know the purpose of such budget items.

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