The Pentagon can absorb the cost of a limited strike on Syria, defense officials and analysts say, but a longer, more involved engagement could collide with financial constraints as the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year approaches.
Congress has yet to approve a defense-spending bill for fiscal 2014 and anticipates sharp debate over raising the federal debt ceiling in mid-October, as the Pentagon continues to cut its 10-year budget under sequestration.
A limited U.S. military strike on Syria likely would cost $500 million to $1 billion, and consist mostly of Tomahawk cruise missiles, which cost about $1.2 million each, according to Todd Harrison, senior analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Because each missile carries only a 1,000-pound warhead, more than one is typically fired at each target, he said.
Five Navy destroyers each carrying nearly 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles are positioned in the eastern Mediterranean, ready to launch an attack against Syria’s regime when ordered. The destroyers already had been budgeted to be at sea, so their deployment does not incur additional costs, a defense official said on background.
B-2 stealth bombers, using GPS-guided bombs that cost about $50,000, also could be used in a limited attack and would incur extra costs only for their fuel in flying from their base in Missouri and back, Mr. Harrison said.