# The cost of the war **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 12, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853 "2026-06-12T19:09:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/1 "2026-06-12T19:09:45Z")
I keep hearing “one billion dollars a day”. Is this a billion on top of what gets spent anyway? The guys get paid no matter where they are plus extra for being in a warzone and, as long as there is no fighting, the ships don’t cost more to be in the gulf as to be bobbing around off California. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/2 "2026-06-12T19:28:25Z")
Yes, the estimated $1B daily cost of the Iran war are additional expenses on top of the Department of Defense’s regular expenses. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/3 "2026-06-12T20:39:18Z")
And if they’re not shooting at someone, what accounts for the billion? As I said, the ships could be bobbing around anywhere and the guys get paid like normal. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/4 "2026-06-12T20:49:10Z")
By this point, the mental gymnastics of “Any money for Ukraine is too much, but huge sums on a war with Iran that goes nowhere is good” MAGA-ers isn’t even intellectually entertaining anymore. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/5 "2026-06-13T00:43:47Z")
There’s hazard pay for those in the line of fire - that can add up. Plus massive amounts of fuel, ammunition, food, supplies, medical care, etc., all greatly in excess of peace time spending. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/6 "2026-06-14T03:12:44Z")
A patriot missile for air defense costs 4-5 million each. A THAAD missile costs 12-15 million each. We’ve fired thousands of air defense missiles in the war, which alone puts the cost into the tens of billions for missiles alone. this article is from 4-21, and shows we spent tens of billions on missiles. > **[Last Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War Ceasefire](https://www.csis.org/analysis/last-rounds-status-key-munitions-iran-war-ceasefire)** > > The United States has depleted its missile inventories but still has enough to continue fighting this war under any plausible scenario. The risk is with future wars—particularly against a peer competitor like China. Then you have all the costs of all the repairs to the jets flying missions. 30 billion a month sounds realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/7 "2026-06-14T05:22:35Z")
But didn’t we have those missiles anyway? We expended the resources, but the cost of the missiles isn’t a new expense. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/8 "2026-06-14T06:10:45Z")
But they will need to be replaced. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/9 "2026-06-14T06:15:21Z")
Driving my car into a brick wall won’t cost me anything, good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/10 "2026-06-14T06:20:24Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > But they will need to be replaced. Indeed. Actually, the US is not building them fast enough for replacements to what we use. Weapon stockpiles are dwindling and that is a problem. We’ve exported so much of our manufacturing capabilities what is left in the US is looking insufficient (see: ship building…that is scary by itself). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/11 "2026-06-14T10:52:27Z")
Making snuff movies for trump’s enjoyment comes at a cost. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/12 "2026-06-14T15:55:30Z")
No: If it’s your brick wall, you don’t have to buy the bricks to crash into it. The crash will probably have other associated costs, though. Whether or not you replace the wall is a separate question. If a missile costs $5, and you buy one because you used your old one in a war, that might be a cost of war, but surely that hasn’t been paid yet? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cost-of-the-war/1030853/13 "2026-06-14T20:15:46Z")
To understand the cost of war these days, you have to first understand that much of our operations are done by private military contractors. > **[New Research: Military Contractors Received Over Half of Pentagon Spending...](https://quincyinst.org/2025/07/08/new-research-military-contractors-received-over-half-of-pentagon-spending-since-2020/)** > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Darcey Rakestraw, darcey@2050strategies.com PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, BROWN UNIVERSITY – The reconciliation bill enacted last week pushes annual ... And these companies routinely receive “cost plus” contracts, where they are guaranteed to have their costs, plus a profit margin, paid by the U.S. government. > **[The 'Cost Plus' boondoggle that hobbles US defense - Breaking Defense](https://breakingdefense.com/2024/10/the-cost-plus-boondoggle-that-hobbles-us-defense/)** > > New Army policy on “enabling modern software development” actually doubles down on some of DoD’s worst dysfunctions, argues Warren Katz, chairman of the Alliance for Commercial Technology in Government, violating the spirit – and perhaps the letter –... It’s a huge money grab, and there’s no incentive to rein it in.