$700 MILLION IN 24 HOURS: THE SOARING COST OF AMERICA'S IRAN OFFENSIVE

The United States may have spent more than $700 million in the first 24 hours of its military campaign against Iran, as the conflict widens across the Middle East and costs mount rapidly. According to estimates cited by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, the US spent roughly $779 million during the opening day of Operation Epic Fury. At least $630 million was additionally spent on pre-strike preparations, including repositioning aircraft, deploying more than a dozen naval vessels and mobilising regional assets, as per Al Jazeera.

Anadolu reported that US Central Command’s buildup of fighter aircraft contributed significantly to early expenses. The deployment of F-18, F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets formed the core of the initial strikes. Based on projected flight hours, maintenance and munitions costs outlined in the 2025 and 2026 Defense Department budget requests, those sorties are estimated to have cost about $271.34 million.

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Other aircraft involved include EA-18G Growler electronic warfare planes, A-10C Thunderbolt attack aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System.

Beyond air operations, maintaining a large naval presence adds to the bill. The Center for a New American Security estimates that operating a carrier strike group such as the USS Gerald R. Ford costs about $6.5 million per day. If multiple strike groups remain deployed for weeks, expenses could quickly climb into the hundreds of millions.

Past conflicts show how rapidly costs can escalate. The Pentagon had said it has spent at least $1 trillion prosecuting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and defending the U.S. homeland, according to newly released Defense Department figures through April 30, as per a report by Bloomberg from 2011. Spending growth on Afghanistan operations helped push the Pentagon over the $1 trillion mark, increasing to $6.2 billion per month in April from $4.3 billion in the first two months of fiscal 2011 that began Oct. 1. Afghanistan spending in fiscal 2009, as Barack Obama became president, averaged $3.9 billion per month, the report read.

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A Brown University Costs of War study found that since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, the US has spent $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel, according to Quincy Institute analyst William D. Hartung. An additional $9.65 billion to $12.07 billion has gone toward operations in Yemen and the region.

President Donald Trump has suggested the campaign could last four to five weeks but said it could continue longer if necessary.

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2026-03-03T10:46:25Z