$33.4 BILLION: THE IRAN WAR BILL AS OF JUNE 29

🚨 $33.4 billion. That's the estimated cost of the Iran war as of June 29, according to a Lead Inspector General report delivered to Congress.

CNBC reports the Department of Defense document tallies hundreds of buildings and structures damaged or destroyed at U.S. bases in the Middle East, plus dozens of U.S. aircraft.

The hardware losses are specific. Four F-15E fighter jets and an A-10 ground attack aircraft were destroyed as of end-June. Seven KC-135 refueling aircraft were damaged or destroyed. Seven helicopters and over 30 drones were lost.

🔴 An F-35A was damaged by enemy fire — the report says it is the first time any aircraft of that type has suffered battle damage. The Air Force puts the F-35A at $92 million per plane. The F-15E cost $31.1 million in 1998.

Then there's the stockpile problem. The report says U.S. munitions expenditure during the conflict "resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply." Translation for anyone watching defense contractors: the shooting outpaced the factories.

Also in the tally: $184 million in physical damage to U.S. diplomatic facilities in four countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Ahead of the report's release, President Trump posted that the U.S. "is producing more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History."

The figures only run to June 29.

What's the number when the next report lands?

#defense #uproar #markets #militaryspending #causeanuproar