The US-Iranian conflict entered its tenth day on Monday. The conflict, which began with the US-Israeli bombing of Tehran and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s long-time supreme leader, continues with no immediate end in sight.
The US made significant gains in the conflict by eliminating Khamenei and other top Iranian leadership. The heavy bombardment also dealt a major blow to Iran’s weapons stockpile and effectively took the Iranian Navy out of the equation.
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But it didn’t come cheap, and the US is bleeding millions of dollars every hour the conflict drags on.
1 billion dollars per day
According to US media reports, the conflict costs around $37.1 every hour. The Atlantic reported that the US is currently spending an estimated $890 million to $1 billion a day on the conflict with Iran.
According to an estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in the first hundred hours of the conflict, the US spent $3.7 billion, or $891.4 million every day.
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Costs include budgetary and non-budgetary expenditures in three categories – operating costs, ammunition replacement and combat loss compensation, and infrastructure damage repair.
What is $1 billion for?
The highest daily expenditure, over $750 million, is spent on replenishing the high-end munitions used to strike Iran.
Tomahawk cruise missiles, which cost around $3.6 million each
Patriot Interceptors, which cost around $4 million per unit
THAAD missiles, which cost around $12 million per unit
The US uses these expensive fighters to intercept Iran’s much cheaper Shahid drones and ballistic missiles.
Operating costs of air
According to CSIS, US air operations alone cost $125.2 million in the first 100 hours, and each subsequent day adds at least $30 million. According to Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, over 200 fighter jets are conducting operations. This includes approximately 50 stealth aircraft, 110 non-stealth aircraft and 80 fighter jets on board.
Cost of three F-15s shot down
On March 2, the U.S. lost three Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighters after they were accidentally shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses during extensive friendly fire.
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While they originally cost $31.1 million in 1998, one F-15E is estimated to cost around $80 million to $100 million in 2026. The replacement cost for the F-15E is $103 million, making it $309 million.
U.S. naval spending mostly comes from maintaining the two aircraft carrier strike groups currently in the region, the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford, which cost about $15 million a day for basic operations.
The US could spend up to $95 billion in Iran
While over $1 billion a day is a huge amount, according to Politico, some Republicans in Congress believe the Pentagon is now “spending up to $2 billion a day on war.”
According to analysts at the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, direct military costs for the US could reach $65 billion to $95 billion if the conflict with Iran persists for several weeks.
Key things
- US military spending in the conflict with Iran is estimated at $65 billion to $95 billion if extended.
- The US Navy’s daily operating costs in the region are approximately $15 million.
- The costs of advanced munitions and air operations contribute significantly to the overall financial burden of the conflict.
