The U.S. Spent $35 Billion In Iran. What Comes Next Is Much Bigger

The article links the end of the U.S.-Iran war, marked by a signed memorandum of understanding last week, to a much larger challenge than the cost already incurred. It claims the U.S. consumed precision weapons at a high rate early in combat, with munitions and interceptors accounting for more than 80% of total costs, or $750 million per day. It also reports that the U.S. fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles at $3.5 million each and expended an additional 1,500 to 2,000 air-defense rounds, alongside 42 aircraft lost or damaged and up to 20 military installations hit across eight countries. The Pentagon’s comptroller estimated $29 billion for equipment repairs and replacements, before an $80 billion supplement request. Officials cited by the piece say restoring Tomahawk stockpiles could take up to six years, while supply-chain scaling requires government incentives. It adds that PwC’s midyear aerospace and defense report put combined defense-firm backlog at $1.36 trillion for 2025.