Iran War Cost Rises to $47.1 Billion, Pentagon Told Lawmakers

The estimate through Oct. 16 shows that bombs, missiles and other munitions accounted for more than 60 percent of expenses.

The cost of the war in Iran rose to $47.1 billion through Oct. 16, with bombs, missiles and other munitions accounting for more than 60 percent of the expenses, the Pentagon told Congress last week.

Even with President Trump holding back on restarting major combat operations, at least for now, the Pentagon still incurred about $3.5 billion in additional costs in the roughly six weeks since the Pentagon shared estimates with lawmakers last month.

The numbers were the latest glimpse of an unclassified breakdown of costs incurred by each of the armed services, as well as for specific categories, like damaged or destroyed weaponry.

In the most recent cost estimates, the Air Force, for instance, has spent $7.6 billion to pay for operating dozens of fighter and bomber squadrons. The Navy has incurred $1.5 billion to deploy more than two dozen warships, including several aircraft carriers. And it has cost the Army $2.1 billion to sustain its forces in the region. Overall, more than 50,000 troops are assigned to the war mission, according to U.S. Central Command.

Congressional officials shared the cost estimates with The New York Times after they were provided to national security committees on Capitol Hill.

Since the war started on Feb. 28, the military has burned through $29 billion in munitions, depleting global stockpiles of some critical weapons, like Patriot air-defense interceptors, and siphoning supplies from U.S. military commands in Asia and Europe.

The Pentagon has spent $6.1 billion to replace dozens of damaged or destroyed combat aircraft and other weaponry and equipment. It has spent $645 million to move and support several thousand Special Operations commandos in the region.

Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.