U.S. Cost for Libya Air War Hit $750M: Gates

12 May 2011 DefenseNews AFP

WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said May 12 that the air war in Libya has cost the United States roughly $750 million to date, more than initially anticipated by the Pentagon. "It's probably at this point somewhere in the ballpark of $750 million," Gates told U.S. Marines during a visit to the Camp Lejeune base in North Carolina. The Pentagon had previously estimated the operation had cost the U.S. military $604 million from the start of international air strikes on March 19 to April 4. Officials had also predicted that the price tag for the operation would be about $40 million per month. Pentagon officials said they did not have an immediate explanation for the rise in the cost of the air war. Since the beginning of April, the United States has taken on a supporting role in the NATO-led campaign, providing refueling tankers and surveillance aircraft but not fighter jets. Starting on April 21, the United States also provided two unmanned Predator drones to join in air strikes against Moammar Gadhafi's regime.