The United States spent more than $11.3 billion in the first six days of its joint military campaign with Israel against Iran, according to figures presented by Pentagon officials during a closed-door meeting with lawmakers in Washington. The New York Times first reported the disclosure, citing three sources familiar with the briefing.

The figure is not yet final and is expected to rise further once operational startup costs are fully accounted for — including increased personnel deployment, ammunition expenditures, and the resources required to carry out the initial wave of strikes alongside Israel, which began on February 28.

A Sharply Revised Estimate Upward

Last week, the independent Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published an analysis estimating that the United States had spent at least $3.7 billion in the first 100 hours — approximately four days — of the conflict. The Pentagon's newer figures indicate a substantially higher rate of spending than the CSIS projected.

While the CSIS analysis implied a daily expenditure of roughly $900 million over those first four days, the Pentagon's numbers suggest a daily burn rate of nearly $1.9 billion across the six-day period — more than double the earlier estimate.

Additional defense sources cited recently by both The New York Times and The Washington Post estimated that the first two days of combat alone — which included strikes targeting Iran's leadership structure — consumed approximately $5.6 billion in munitions.

The Pentagon Eyes Cheaper Munitions

Among the weapons deployed in that initial bombardment was the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, a precision glide bomb that can cost in excess of $836,000 per unit, according to the Times. Since those opening strikes, Pentagon officials have stated that the military now intends to shift toward less costly munitions going forward.

The United States is rapidly drawing down its inventory of air interceptors and precision-guided weapons, to the point where military planners have been compelled to exercise greater selectivity in target designation, The Washington Post reported last week, citing three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.