Before the missile strike on Syria became an issue, the Navy’s USS Nimitz, and its escorts, were scheduled to return from deployment. Now, however, they’ve been ordered to remain within striking distance of Syria, which alone costs an estimated $25 million per week. Further, each Tomahawk cruise missile likely to be fired on Syria costs an estimated $1.5 million each to replace. That’s great news for Raytheon (NYSE: RTN ) , which builds the missile, but not for the Navy’s budget. Plus, if the U.S. fires missiles, that’ll add an additional $30 million per week for as long as the Navy’s Nimitz and Truman are engaged in combat.
Those costs may not seem like much when you factor in overall defense spending, but thanks to the nature of sequestration, the Navy, as well as the rest of the military, is hurting. For example, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert, stated that for FY2014, the Navy needs more than a billion dollars more for “operations and maintenance” and a billion more for “procurement accounts” — like the desperately needed DDG-51 destroyers the Navy is scheduled to acquire from General Dynamics (NYSE: GD ) , and Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII ) .
The good news is that if the proposed missile strike lasts only for September, and there’s no additional engagement requirement, the Navy believes it can handle this costs. But if the strike goes into October, or if there are additional requirements, the Navy can’t afford it.
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