The massive financial cost of warfare

This is a lightly edited Haaretz report on the Iranian response to the US backed attack on Iran. Such details, important as they are, have not had much publicity because the Israeli military continues to censor and block information.

500 Missiles, 200 Interceptors, $1.5 Billion: Numbers Behind Iran’s Attacks on Israel

The IDF reported 36 Iranian missiles that hit – and 14 percent that missed ■ American researchers identified 10 unreported impact sites ■ Footage from Jordan suggests that around 200 interceptors were launched, at a cost of billions

Iran launched more than 500 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which landed in open areas, throughout the recent war. Israel and the United States intercepted the remainder with around 200 missile interceptors at an estimated cost of 5 billion shekels (nearly $1.5 billion), according to an analysis of IDF data and open-source information.

The IDF reported that, over the 12-day conflict, 36 Iranian missiles struck built environments,, while air defense systems achieved an interception rate of 86 percent.

Data compiled by Haaretz from IDF reports over the course of the war shows that Iran carried out 42 missile barrages, firing roughly 530 ballistic missiles at Israel.

Haaretz analyzed footage from 33 impact sites: 30 missiles were equipped with warheads containing hundreds of kilograms of explosives and struck locations in central, northern and southern Israel. Three other missiles carried cluster warheads, each releasing several smaller bomblets with warheads up to seven kilograms. One struck Be’er Sheva, another hit Rishon Letzion and the third fell across a wider area spanning Holon, Azor, Savyon, Bat Yam and Or Yehuda.

American researchers Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, experts in satellite imagery of conflict zones, identified 10 additional impact sites that had been previously unreported. A military source confirmed to Haaretz that an Iranian missile had indeed hit one of the locations identified by the researchers.

The IDF reported 36 impacts in populated areas and an 86 percent interception success rate for Israel’s and America’s defense systems. However, these numbers are estimates, as the IDF has not released exact statistics or explanations about its interception strategy during the war.

Iranian ballistic missiles were intercepted by Israel’s Arrow 3 and Arrow 2 systems, as well as the US THAAD system.. The American battery had been stationed in southern Israel since October 2024 and had previously intercepted missiles from Yemen.

This was the first time the system, equipped with six launchers and a special radar flown to Israel, intercepted missiles from Iran. In the lead-up to the attack in Iran, and during it, U.S. cargo planes landed in Israel carrying additional THAAD interceptors.

According to Haaretz’s count, 84 interceptors were launched during these eight salvos. American researchers who counted. 82 interceptors were able to match their launch locations with Arrow and THAAD batteries deployed in Israel. Based on launch characteristics, they concluded that Israel launched 34 Arrow 3 interceptors and nine Arrow 2s, while the U.S. launched 39 THAAD interceptors.

During these eight salvos documented by a Jordanian photographer, Iran launched around 225 ballistic missiles. Extrapolating the number of interceptors launched in these strikes to the total number of Iranian launches reported by the IDF, Israel and the U.S. are estimated to have fired around 195 interceptors over the 12-day war: about 80 Arrow 3s, 22 Arrow 2s, and 93 THAADs.

Again, these are rough estimates – the ratio of launches in the eight documented salvos may differ from the 34 undocumented ones, and additional interception batteries may have been used in areas not captured on video. U.S. Navy Aegis ships also participated in the interceptions, but their involvement was not captured in filmed footage.

According to U.S. Missile Defense Agency budget data, only 12 THAAD interceptors were produced in 2025, yet in just 12 days of fighting, the United States fired eight times that number. Production is expected to rise only slightly in 2026, with just 32 interceptors scheduled, meaning it will take time to replenish depleted stockpiles. At $13 million per unit, the United States has launched an estimated $1.25 billion worth of interceptors in the war with Iran.will take time to replenish depleted stockpiles. At $13 million per unit, the United States has launched an estimated $1.25 billion worth of interceptors in the war with Iran.

This represents a significant operational trial for THAAD manufacturer Lockheed Martin, as the company positions itself for the U.S. homeland missile defense initiative – an effort worth hundreds of billions of dollars, announced by President Donald Trump. Last month, at the height of the war with Iran, the company announced it had delivered the U.S. Army’s eighth THAAD battery.

According to past reports, the cost of each Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptor is estimated at between $2 million and $3 million. Based on that, Israel launched interceptors worth roughly a quarter of a billion dollars during the war, excluding the large number of Iron Dome and David’s Sling interceptors also used to intercept the remains of incoming Iranian missiles. Israel Aerospace Industries is currently in the advanced stages of developing the Arrow 4, which is set to replace the Arrow 2 in the future.