Overview
- The Congressional Budget Office reported on Sept. 15 that the Department of Defense has spent about $38 billion on the campaign through Aug. 1 and that continued operations could cost roughly $2 billion to $3 billion per month.
- Most of the bill — $21.7 billion — covers replacing expended munitions, with the CBO estimating $13.1 billion for missile‑defense interceptors, $7.3 billion for land‑attack cruise missiles, and $1.2 billion for other weapons.
- The CBO estimates the U.S. has used between half and two‑thirds of certain interceptor inventories since June 2025, that unit prices range from roughly $4 million to $28 million each, and that rebuilding stocks could take about five years even with higher production.
- A Pentagon Inspector General report corroborates the CBO’s findings by identifying industrial bottlenecks in solid rocket motors, high‑grade explosives and propellants, and skilled manufacturing labor, which slow resupply and lengthen logistics cycles.
- The CBO warns the conflict will push U.S. inflation higher — about 0.5 percentage points on the personal consumption expenditures index in Q1 2027 — while the Defense Department’s limited cooperation, White House denials of shortages, and an unapproved supplemental funding request leave replenishment and readiness plans unresolved.