First 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury cost US estimated $5.82 billion

2026-03-06 - 11:42

The first 100 hours of "Operation Epic Fury," the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, have cost American forces an estimated $5.82 billion—approximately 0.69% of the entire 2026 US defense budget—according to data compiled by Anadolu. The figure combines operational expenditures of roughly $3.3 billion with $2.52 billion in military assets lost to Iranian retaliatory strikes and friendly fire incidents. Major asset losses The most significant single loss is a US AN/FPS-132 early warning radar system at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base, valued at $1.1 billion, which was struck by an Iranian missile on Saturday. Qatar confirmed the radar was hit and damaged. On Sunday, three F-15E Strike Eagles were lost in a friendly fire incident involving Kuwaiti air defenses; while all six aircrew survived, replacing the aircraft will cost an estimated $282 million. US officials told CBS News that three MQ-9 Reaper surveillance and attack drones have been downed so far, at an estimated cost of $90 million. During its initial attack on Saturday, Iran struck the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, destroying two AN/GSC-52B satellite communications terminals valued at approximately $20 million, including deployment and installation costs. Satellite imagery analyzed by the New York Times of Camp Arifjan in Kuwait shows three additional radomes destroyed, adding roughly $30 million in costs. At least two AN/TPY-2 radar components of THAAD anti-ballistic missile systems—one in the UAE and one in Jordan—appear to have been destroyed, each valued at approximately $500 million. Operational expenditures According to analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Anadolu's initial estimate of $779 million for the first 24 hours appears to represent roughly a daily expenditure for US forces. CSIS estimates it will cost $3.1 billion to replenish US munitions inventory on a like-for-like basis for the first 100 hours, with costs increasing by $758.1 million per day. The USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford remain in the region with their destroyer and littoral combat ship contingents, expending an estimated $15 million daily. US defensive systems have been heavily used to intercept Iranian attacks, with the Payne Institute estimating approximately 180 SM-2/SM-3/SM-6 naval interceptors, 90 Patriot PAC-2/PAC-3 missiles, and 40 THAAD interceptors fired. Continuing costs The $5.82 billion figure represents only the first 100 hours of an operation that President Donald Trump has suggested could last four to five weeks or longer. As the conflict continues to expand, with Iranian retaliatory strikes targeting Gulf states and Hezbollah engaged on Israel's northern border, the financial toll on US forces is expected to mount significantly in the days and weeks ahead.