The war in the Middle East has been ongoing for 2 weeks, and the situation on the battlefield still shows no clear end. Currently, the world is paying attention to a question: how much money will this military operation cost the United States?
The war in the Middle East is expected to consume a large amount of U.S. military spending
As the conflict has not yet ended, it is currently impossible to make a final assessment. However, according to a report by CNN, the Pentagon has already made an estimate. In the first six days of the war, the U.S. military had already spent at least 11.3 billion dollars on ammunition alone. This number does not include the costs of deploying troops to the Middle East, medical expenses, or the replacement costs of war-damaged aircraft. That means the total cost of operations in the first six days is much higher than 11.3 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, CNN, after consulting with experts from multiple think tanks, pointed out that the cost of this conflict to the military budget is quite significant. A cost analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed that in the first 100 hours of the war, the daily expenditure of the U.S. military was estimated at 891.4 million dollars, totaling about 3.7 billion dollars, of which about 3.1 billion dollars were for ammunition.
A U.S. think tank's assessment report stated: During this period, the U.S. military used 168 long-range "Tomahawk" missiles, each costing 3.6 million dollars. The U.S. also fired dozens of expensive "Patriot" and "Thaad" interception missiles during this time, with the total cost of defensive ammunition exceeding 1.6 billion dollars.
A U.S. think tank provided a detailed breakdown of the daily combat costs of the U.S. military. From the perspective of the combat structure, air and naval military operations are the main sources of overall war costs. In terms of air combat, the U.S. military spends approximately 30 million dollars per day, while naval combat costs about 15 million dollars per day.
If further broken down, in terms of air force capabilities, the daily cost of refueling and transport aircraft is about 9 million dollars, while the aircraft carrier-based fighter groups, non-stealth fighters, and stealth fighters each cost about 5 million dollars per day.
Aircraft takeoff, missile launch—these all cost money
As for the navy, the daily operating cost of an aircraft carrier is about 6 million dollars, while the operating cost of a destroyer is about 5 million dollars. Ground forces have relatively lower costs, such as artillery groups, whose daily combat cost is about 1 million dollars.
It is worth noting that the U.S. military operation "Midnight Hammer" against Iran in June last year lasted only two and a half hours, and according to an estimate by Brown University after the event, the total military cost was expected to be between 2.04 billion and 2.26 billion dollars. This shows that the cost of modern warfare is far beyond imagination, extremely high.
However, unlike last year, this year involves a longer duration of combat. How much military expenses the war will ultimately cost the U.S. military can only be calculated after the war ends. The Trump administration's action timeline has changed multiple times, ranging from two weeks to six weeks. Recently, he has also repeatedly hinted that the war is about to end. More importantly, the timing of the ceasefire is not entirely in his hands. It remains highly uncertain whether he can control Israel, and whether Iran will be willing to stop the war.
A U.S. think tank pointed out: The scale of future combat cost consumption will be affected by several actual factors, such as changes in combat intensity and the strength of Iran's counterattacks. Specifically, if the U.S. military uses less costly ammunition in the coming days and Iran's offensive weakens, the overall cost will decrease. But if the war continues at this level of intensity, the costs will only increase accordingly.
Overall, due to the changing battlefield situation and combat intensity, researchers generally believe that it is still difficult to accurately estimate the final cost of the war at present.
This is simply a money-burning operation, and the final cost is expected to be astronomical
However, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania made a rough estimate: If the war lasts for two months, the total cost could range between 40 billion and 95 billion dollars. If the U.S. military later deploys ground forces, the total cost of the war would skyrocket directly.
In addition to combat costs, the post-war ammunition supply is also a major challenge for the U.S. military. According to insiders, the U.S. military has already consumed key ammunition stocks accumulated over several years in this war. It is highly questionable when the U.S. military will be able to replenish this ammunition stockpile after the war.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7616967784454505001/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.