Costs of Libya operation piling up

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Editor's notes:

With U.S. and coalition forces bombarding Libya leader Muammer al-Gaddafi's forces from the sea and air, the cost for the first week of the operation was at least $600 million, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. The real cost, however, will not be known until months after the operation has ended – and there is no end in sight.

Country	Military Budget 2011	Fiscal Deficit 2010	Cost of Libya Operation
United States	$549.1 billion	$1.342 trillion	The Pentagon says it has spent $550 million on U.S. military operations in Libya s. More than 60 percent of the $550 million was spent on bombs and missiles, and the rest on getting troops and funding the costs of combat.
France	$41.65 billion	$209.7 billion	The French Rafales and Mirage 2000s toted up over 400 flight hours till March 21 in the Libya mission. The cost of keeping a Rafale in the air for an hour is 10,000 to 13,000 euros, not counting fuel. For a Mirage 2000, it is 10,000 to 11,000 euros an hour. French military confirmed that they had spent 4.8 million euros on fuel for the first two days action.
Britain	$54.63 billion	$228.9 billion	There are no official figures for the UK share of the cost, but at least £25 million will have been spent by British forces, most accounted for by weapons.
Spain	$10.09 billion	$138.86 billion	Spain's participation will cost state coffers 25 million euros in the initial one-month period. The deployment of four F-18 fighter jets and a B-707 refueling plane for 30 days has a cost of 10 million euros, while the naval operation will run up a tab of 15 million euros over three months.
Greece	$6.68 billion	$27.54 billion	In an extremely difficult economic period for Greece, the country's participation to operations against Libya cost 6.5 million euros per month. If the operations last three months the costs will amount to 20 million euros.
Italy	$28.45 billion	$112.19 billion	Italy has opened its air force and naval bases in Sicily for use by the allied forces.
Canada	$23 billion	$57.27 billion	Canada has committed six CF-18s to the Libya operation, and a seventh is in the area as a backup. Two CP-140 Aurora patrol planes sent to help with the mission have arrived in Italy. Operating cost for one hour: at least $10,000
Belgium	$3.64 billion	$18.94 billion	Four Belgian air force F-16s joined air operations against Libya. Operation cost for one hour: $9,366