The US military’s bombing campaign in Yemen has cost nearly $1 billion in under three weeks, according to sources speaking with CNN, who said the campaign had caused a limited impact on the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces’ (YAF) capabilities.
Launched on 15 March, the offensive has relied on costly precision munitions like Tomahawk missiles, JASSMs, JSOWs, B-2 bombers from Diego Garcia, and additional aircraft carriers and fighter jets. Despite this, the YAF continues to launch ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, including downing at least 17 US MQ-9 advanced drones – each carrying a price tag of $30 million.
Pentagon officials acknowledge that while some of the Yemeni leadership and military sites have been targeted, the nation retains significant weapons stockpiles and fortified bunkers. One source noted Yemen’s continued ability to strike Red Sea shipping and evade damage.
“They’ve taken out some sites, but that hasn’t affected the Houthis’ ability to continue shooting at ships in the Red Sea or shooting down US drones,” said one of the sources briefed on the operation. “Meanwhile, we are burning through readiness—munitions, fuel, deployment time.”
Yemen’s armed forces began targeting Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in November 2023 in response to Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
The US and UK then launched a military operation against Yemen on Israel’s behalf.
The operation’s high cost has raised concerns in Congress. The Pentagon may soon need to request additional funding to continue the campaign.
A shift in strike authorization—moving away from the Biden-era model requiring White House approval—has given commanders more flexibility, echoing policies from Trump’s first term. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz referenced the killing of a senior Yemeni drone operator, indicating a more expansive strike approach.
Meanwhile, officials at the US Indo-Pacific Command have expressed concern over the depletion of long-range munitions like JASSMs, which they see as essential for potential conflicts in the Pacific, including against China.
A defense official dismissed these concerns, emphasizing continued readiness and precision targeting. The operation is expected to continue until Yemen’s attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea cease.
On Friday, YAF spokesman Yahya Saree said Sanaa “targeted the hostile US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its affiliated warships in the Red Sea, using several cruise missiles and drones.”
He stressed that the group “will not abandon its moral, religious, and humanitarian duties toward the oppressed Palestinian people, no matter the consequences.”
According to Yemen’s Health Ministry, at least 61 civilians have been killed and 139 others injured in US airstrikes across Yemen since March 15.
The sources that spoke with CNN echoed similar claims about the operation’s cost and limited effectiveness reported in the New York Times (NYT) yesterday.
“In closed briefings in recent days, Pentagon officials have acknowledged that there has been only limited success in destroying the Houthis’ vast, largely underground arsenal of missiles, drones, and launchers,” anonymous congressional aides and officials told NYT.
The sources say the YAF has reinforced many of its military sites.
“In just three weeks, the Pentagon has used $200 million worth of munitions, in addition to the immense operational and personnel costs to deploy two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 bombers, and fighter jets, as well as Patriot and THAAD air defenses to the Middle East,” according to the officials.
The report comes as US President Donald Trump has been boasting about the success of Washington’s campaign against the Ansarallah resistance movement, which he says has been “decimated.”