The United States' war expense bill for its conflict with Iran has risen to $29 billion (about 43 trillion won) in 10 weeks. Jay Hurst, the U.S. Department of Ministry of National Defense Inspector General, testified at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing for the fiscal 2027 defense budget on the 12th (local time), saying, "After continued review of the war expense estimates by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the audit team, we currently assess it is close to $29 billion." Analysts say the hefty bill breaks the common belief that this is a limited war using only air and sea asset without large-scale ground troop deployments.
At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the 29th, the Ministry of National Defense put the expense estimate at $25 billion (about 37 trillion won). In two weeks, it rose by $4 billion (about 6 trillion won). The Inspector General Hurst explained at the hearing that the surge in expense was "because of the expense needed to repair and replace equipment and the general operating expense to sustain forces in the theater." In addition to bombing expense, the books also include restocking expended precision munitions, maintenance for aircraft, ships and air defense systems, and personnel and sustainment costs at Middle East bases.
Converting the expense accumulated over 10 weeks since the war with Iran began on Feb. 28 into a daily average comes to about $400 million, and on a monthly basis about $12.4 billion. Brown University, calculating in nominal dollars adjusted for inflation, found that it surpasses both the 2008 Iraq War (monthly $11.8 billion), when hundreds of thousands of ground troops simultaneously carried out occupation and security, and the 2011 Afghanistan War (monthly $9.8 billion). It is about 40% higher than the Gulf War average (monthly $8.7 billion) from 1990 to 1991. Notably, in this war the United States has shouldered the war expense alone, without allied help except for Israel.
In particular, expense in the early phase of the war, when both sides concentrated firepower, temporarily skyrocketed. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated cumulative expense at $11.3 billion on day 6 of the war and $16.5 billion on day 12. On a monthly basis, that translates to $56.5 billion and $41.3 billion, roughly five times the Gulf War average. CSIS analyzed that early missile and drone intercepts, ammunition use, and losses and infrastructure damage steeply pushed up the expense curve. If a cease-fire deal fails and both sides resume airstrikes and defenses comparable to the initial intensity, the burden the United States will shoulder is expected to grow further.
Iran is resisting more fiercely than the Islamic State group, Houthi rebels and Libya's Gadhafi forces that U.S. troops faced in the past. Iran is not an insurgent force; it is a state actor with ballistic missiles, drones, cruise missiles, a dense air defense network, and the ability to control the Strait of Hormuz. Previously U.S. forces focused only on bombing enemy territory, but now they must intercept enemy missiles and drones while bombing and simultaneously defend allied territory and U.S. maritime asset. Since the war began, the aircraft carrier strike groups, long-range bombers, aerial refueling tankers, and early warning and electronic warfare asset that the United States prides itself on have been tied down off the Strait of Hormuz.
Military experts cited the "paradox of defense" as the main reason driving up war expense. According to an Al Jazeera estimate, Iran's Shahed drones cost around $50,000 each, while the Patriot interceptor missiles used by the United States and Israel to stop them cost $4 million per shot, and THAAD interceptor rounds cost about $12 million. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that of the $29 billion calculated as war expense, about $24 billion (about 35 trillion won) is for equipment damage, ammunition use and aircraft repair expense.
At a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing the same day, the Inspector General Hurst acknowledged that this estimate does not include the cost to repair Middle East U.S. bases damaged by Iranian missile and drone attacks. When asked by Congress whether that meant "you will not repair facilities damaged by the war," the Inspector General Hurst said, "At this time, we are not estimating expense for military construction (MILCON). We do not know what our force posture will look like going forward." Observers say if additional defensive networks are built in earnest at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, and Iraq's Ayn al-Asad base as the Middle East situation evolves, a separate supplemental budget will be unavoidable.