The cost of Israel’s interception of Iran’s missile and drone barrage on Saturday was estimated at 2.1 billion Israeli shekels, or more than $550 million.
The estimate–by Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank in Tel Aviv–takes into account expenses associated with intercepting half of the Iranian missiles and drones, including the use of the David’s Sling air-defense system, and also takes into account the cost of keeping 100 Israeli warplanes in the air for six hours, including fuel and weapons.
“These are enormous costs,”
said Kalisky, who added that they were comparable to costs in major wars fought by Israel such as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Saturday’s price tag was unlikely to have an immediate or long-term negative impact on Israel’s economy, Kalisky said.
Photo:”David’s Sling” (Hebrew designation “Sharvit Ksamim”)
Source: Wall Street Journal