U.S. price tag mounting for NATO airstrikes

As NATO'S airstrikes continue, the military costs are mounting

April 2, 1999
Web posted at: 2:32 p.m. EST (1932 GMT)

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (CNN) -- The stepped-up pace of NATO attacks on Yugoslavia means that the amount of money going toward the campaign has been stepped up as well.

Some U.S. economists estimate Washington's price tag for the weapons and fuel being used in the operation, which was in its 10th day Friday, at hundreds of millions of dollars per week.

Each laser-guided bomb costs $40,000, and an air-launched cruise missile costs $1 million, which explains why the price of the NATO operation is rocketing.

At Aviano Air Base in Italy, where about a third of the aircraft involved in the NATO campaign are based, the Air Mobility Command unloaded about one transport plane every 90 minutes in the buildup to the airstrikes.

Ground crews unload weapons from transport planes

Since the attacks began, a slower but steady stream of C-141, C-130 and C-5 transport planes has kept operations going, bringing in 60 to 80 tons of supplies each day.

The supplies are "mostly munitions," said Capt. Mark Saragosa of the Air Mobility Support Group. As ground crews unload weapons, combat planes depart with others.

Air crews that have been bringing the munitions from the United States, including members of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, are seeing more flight time than usual and have been told that their schedules may become even more demanding.

"We are being told to be prepared because we may have to step it up even further and be ready to fly a lot," U.S. Air Force Maj. Kurt Greenlee said.

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