Tehran, million dollar missiles but Tel Aviv spends twice as much to defend itself

Last Tuesday’s missile attack against Israel, which did almost no damage, cost Iran about 200 million dollars, so a little less than 200 million euros. Israel’s defense system, which repeatedly proved to be effective even if not perfect, involved a much higher cost.

Cost analysis

The analysis from the Jerusalem Post that starts from some data from the IDF, Israel Defense Forces: Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles, mostly intercepted by the air defense system with thanks also to the cooperation of the US that they put in place with the missile destroyers 12 The total number is around 200 because some missiles fell on the way in Iran and Iraq.

The analysts of the Jerusalem Post write: “A ballistic missile with a range of 1,500-2,000 kilometers is expensive. Estimates suggest that it cost the Iranians at least a million dollars to produce each missile, and they used advanced models such as the Emad and Kheibar, and even the Fattah-1, which is said to be hypersonic, meaning it can fly and move at speeds. higher than five times the speed of sound, in an attempt to fool air defense systems trying to stop it. About $200 million is a good amount for a missile strike and certainly not a small portion of Iran’s missile stockpile. However, from Tehran’s point of view, they represent a very light blow to their finances.”

Reuters speculates that despite the sanctions, Iran earns around 35 billion dollars from selling crude oil, so the 200 million for the missile attack is not that high from the view of the ayatollahs.

Defense of Israel

On the other hand, the Israeli defenders used Arrows missiles to counter the attack as well as visit the iron dome. In this case the costs are much higher, the estimate is around 450 million dollars. The Jerusalem Post notes: “According to the World Bank, Israel’s GDP per capita is more than double that of Iran: 50,000 dollars compared to 20,000. However, Israel is a country of 10 million people, while Iran has 90 million. Most of the funding for the Arrow interceptor supply has come from the United States, which has invested about $4 billion in the project so far. As long as the United States is willing to continue funding Israel’s air defense systems, as it did for Iron Dome and David’s Sling, the main constraint is the production speed of Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael, as well as supply of essential materials. components ».

For the Israelis, the modernization of the defense network from air attacks is now represented by laser systems that will enter service from 2025 and have much more limited costs.