“The nature of the mission is classified."

First, America had to grapple with the 'storm Area 51' raid. Now black helicopters are hovering ominously over Washington, D.C.

Bloomberg's Tony Capaccio first reported on Monday that the Army has requested $1.55 million for a classified mission involving 10 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a “Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility" at Fort Belvoir, Va.

From Bloomberg:

"Without additional funding, the Army will not be able to perform this classified mission," the Defense Department said.

"Soldiers from assault helicopter company and aviation maintenance units will be supporting the mission with 10 UH-60s and maintenance capabilities for four months," according to the document, referring to the Black Hawks.

It was not immediately clear what this mission is, which service members might be involved, or why it is taking place in the nation's capital.

The mission began in early fiscal 2019, said Army spokesman Wayne Hall, who referred questions about how much the operation costs to the Defense Department.

“The mission is an actual operation and the duration is undetermined," Hall told Task & Purpose on Monday. “The nature of the mission is classified."

This article by Jeff Schogol originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter. This article first appeared in 2019.

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