The US Department of Defense revealed that military operations against Iran last week cost approximately US$11 billion (around HK$86.1 billion), a figure equivalent to the cost of building a Ford-class aircraft carrier, according to reports from foreign media.
Jules Hurst, the Defense Department's acting comptroller, disclosed the estimate on March 12 during a defense conference in Washington, marking the first time the US government has publicly disclosed the cost of the conflict.
Hurst stated that the Pentagon is preparing a more detailed budget request for additional funding, which will be submitted to the White House and Congress in the coming days.
Preliminary estimates of the conflict's expenses, such as ammunition consumption and flight costs, have already been shared with members of Congress. Some lawmakers, based on their discussions with government officials, predict that the additional funding required could exceed US$50 billion.
However, the White House and the Pentagon have yet to confirm this figure.
External analysts have provided alternative estimates of the costs. The Center for Strategic and International Studies calculated that air and naval strikes in the first 100 hours of the conflict cost around US$3.7 billion. Meanwhile, the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute estimated total costs to date to be between US$11.2 billion and US$14.5 billion.
Despite these figures, some lawmakers, including Senator Christopher Coons from the Senate Committee on Appropriations, have questioned whether the government's estimates include all operational costs, such as ship and aircraft operations, fuel, personnel, and ammunition restocking. Coons argued that future cost reports should account for months of preparation, deployment, and replenishment.
The US government has not set an end date for the military operations. While President Donald Trump previously suggested the campaign could last four weeks or longer, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has declined to provide a specific timeline for the mission.
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