(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The Pentagon is planning to spend at least $3.5 billion replenishing weapons it has used defending Israel, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The report cited budget documents “prepared through mid-May,” meaning the $3.5 billion doesn’t include the cost for the US-Israeli war that was launched against Iran starting on June 13 and lasted 12 days.
The documents say the spending is necessary to make up for costs to the US Central Command amid responses to “the situation in Israel” or other hostile actions emanating from it, as well as US combat operations “executed at the request of or in coordination with Israel for the defense of Israeli territory, personnel or assets during attacks by Iran” or its allies.
The single biggest request is for $1 billion to replenish various models of the Standard Missile interceptor, which are primarily fired by US Navy warships and are produced by Raytheon. The request was mainly for SM-3 IB Threat Upgrade interceptors, which are used to shoot down ballistic missiles and cost between $9 million and $12 million per munition.
The US used SM-3 interceptors in April 2024 when it helped defend Israel from a major Iranian missile and drone attack that was provoked by the Israeli bombing of an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
The second-largest request was for $204 million to purchase more Lockheed Martin-made THAAD interceptors, which cost about $13 million apiece.
The US also used a significant number of SM-3 interceptors and a huge number of THAAD missiles during the 12-Day War, meaning more requests are coming. US officials told The Wall Street Journal that the US fired more than 150 THAAD missiles during the war, accounting for about one quarter of the Pentagon’s total stock of the interceptors and costing about $2 billion.
Just adding the cost of THAAD interceptors to the $3.5 billion requested by the Pentagon as of May brings the total US spending on military operations for Israel since October 7, 2023, to $5.5 billion. The number doesn’t include the military aid the US has provided to support the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip and other Israeli operations across the region.
According to Bloomberg, the $3.5 billion request is expected to be pulled from the additional military assistance for Israel that was authorized by Congress in 2024. Besides missiles and other munitions, the report said that the request also includes “a range of mundane tasks including radar upkeep, refurbishing vessels, and transporting munitions.”
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
