By the Numbers - 2023 Clashes Between US and Iranian Proxies

So far, proxy attacks have tied up at least 19 US ships and 150 aircraft in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf. The operating costs of those ships are substantial as are the ordnance they have fired to shoot down drones and missiles fired by Iranian proxy forces. 

It should be noted that those ships in their current location would be unavailable in time to stop a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. At full speed, it would take at least 10 days for the aircraft carriers to reach the South China Sea from the eastern Mediterranean. 

Between October 7th and today, there have been 102 attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, the Navy has been attacked 17 times by missiles and drones launched from Yemen. I must say, Iran is deftly waging an asymmetric war. 

To make the math easier, let's say all 119 attacks used a single Shahed drone at the cost of $40,000 each. The total cost of the attacks would then be about $5 million. This is equivalent to about 50 US airstrikes using JDAMs and aircraft launched from a nearby base. It's worth mentioning that it costs about $1 million per year to station just one US service member overseas. 

In other words, airstrikes cost about twice as drones and cruise missiles. Why then, does the US continue to spend more money on aircraft, particularly the F-35 and the new B-21 bomber? I ask that rhetorically, of course. 

US strategy, if it can even be called that, is made in the boardrooms of defense contractors. The objective there is profit, not victory.