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US 'Hobbled' by Soaring War Costs as Rapid Missile Depletion Raises Supply Concerns
Intensive Missile Launches and Massive War Expenditures
On the 28th of last month, U.S. Central Command released footage of a Tomahawk cruise missile being launched from a destroyer. With a range of over 1,600 km and a margin of error of just 3 meters, these missiles are known to be effective in striking military bases and air defense radar systems at the outset of hostilities. According to the military specialized media outlet 19FortyFive, approximately 400 Tomahawk missiles were launched from U.S. destroyers and submarines within three days of the conflict's start. With each Tomahawk missile costing around 3 billion Korean Won, the expenditure for 400 missiles amounts to a staggering 1.2 trillion Korean Won.
Foreign media reported that the U.S. spent over $11.3 billion (approximately 16.7 trillion Won) during the first six days of its war with Iran. Previously, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) had estimated the average daily war expenditure during the first 100 hours of conflict to be around 1.3 trillion Won, but the actual cost revealed by the Department of Defense was approximately 2.8 trillion Won, more than double the estimate. The New York Times projected that while the U.S. Department of Defense reported war costs in a closed-door briefing to Congress, the actual expenditures would increase further as operational costs were not included.
Deepening Weapon Depletion and Budgetary Pressure
The U.S. and Gulf nations launched 800 Patriot interceptor missiles over five days, a figure 1.5 times their annual production and more than the 600 missiles supplied to Ukraine over the past four years. Hundreds of Tomahawk missiles, which are only produced at a rate of 100 per year, have already been expended, leading to a severe inventory shortage. Consequently, the U.S. has announced plans to use inexpensive GPS-guided direct attack munitions, costing tens of millions of Won each, in future operations.
Currently, the White House is reportedly preparing to submit an additional war budget of 74 trillion Won to the U.S. Congress, but both ruling and opposition parties are expressing reluctance. This suggests that it may become difficult for the U.S. to wage wars with massive expenditures as it has in the past. As war costs and weapon consumption rates increase faster than anticipated, concerns are growing regarding the long-term sustainability of U.S. military operations.
*Source: YouTube: MBC News (2026-03-12)*
