The cost of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria (Operation Inherent Resolve) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) reached $2.91 billion in June 2015, the Department of Defense (DoD) reports.
This averages out to $9.2 million a day since August 8, 2014, up slightly from last month’s report.
DoD reports that $5.0 million of the daily average is for flying OPTEMPO, $2.1 million for munitions, $2.1 million for mission support, and $0.1 million for ship OPTEMPO. Air Force costs are averaging $6.1 million per day, while the Navy is spending $1.4 million daily and the Army $0.9 billion a day. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) costs are averaging $0.7 million daily.
According to DoD, 6,981 close air support, escort, and interdiction air sorties under OIR were conducted in 2014 and 9,183 such sorties have been carried out in 2015 as of May 31.
Through June 22, DoD reports that, U.S. and partner nations have damaged or destroyed 7,655 targets. This includes 2,045 buildings, 1,859 fighting positions, and over 400 tanks and vehicles.
Nations partnering with the U.S in conducting airstrikes against ISIL include Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
DoD costs are being funded from the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) approved by Congress. The administration requested $3.4 billion for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) in FY2015. For FY2016, the OCO request includes $4 billion to support OIR plus another $1.3 billion to train Iraqi forces (including Kurdish forces) and moderate Syrian opposition.
