Subject: What is the cost of missile, etc. fired on Ukraine
I was curious about the accumulated total of ground attack missiles and drones (excluding battleground anti-tank/personnel)fired by Russia against Ukraine. I remember, back in 2022, there was speculation that Russia was running low on missiles, but have since fired an order of magnitude more. So the question begs, what supply they started with, what is the manufacture rate - and if it does not exceed usage, what is their available stockpile? What is the US (and Chinese) stockpile of similar weapons and what is our ability to keep up an equivalent rate of usage (assuming that current tactics would be indicative of those used in a future European conflict).

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has launched over 9,600 missiles and nearly 14,000 attack drones, with estimated costs exceeding $20 billion. These include a mix of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and kamikaze drones.
Here’s a breakdown of the types, quantities, and estimated costs:

🚀 Missile and Drone Usage Since 2022
Cruise Missiles ~5,000+
Kh-101, Kh-555, Kalibr, Kh-22 @ $1.5M–$2M = ~$7.5B–$10B

Ballistic Missiles ~4,600+
Iskander-M, S-300 repurposed for ground use @ $3M–$5M = ~$13.8B–$23B

Attack Drones ~14,000+
Shahed-131/136 (Iranian-made), Lancet, Orlan @ $20K–$50K = ~$280M–$700M


Per Copilot AI, Sources: Ukrainian Air Force, Frontliner.ua, Al Jazeera, Wikipedia

📊 Notable Attack Patterns
- Largest single-day attack: On September 9, 2025, Russia launched 823 projectiles, including 810 drones and decoys and 13 cruise/ballistic missiles.
- Second-largest attack: October 30, 2025, saw 705 drones and missiles, including 653 drones and 52 missiles.
- Guided bombs: Over 33,000 dropped by Russian aircraft, adding to the destruction.

💰 Cost Implications
- Total estimated cost of Russia’s aerial campaign (missiles + drones) likely exceeds $20 billion, not including aircraft operations or infrastructure damage.
- The use of Shahed drones—cheaper and mass-produced—has allowed Russia to sustain frequent attacks despite sanctions and resource constraints.

There has been speculation that Russia is a "has been" as a military force and no match for the US and/or NATO. That may be the case, but despite their dubious military tactics, they have succeeded in throwing millions of personnel and vast amounts of munitions and equipment into the Ukraine conflict over the past two years.

This should be taken in the context of the potential of a US conflict with China in the Asian theatre - next door to them, and thousands of miles from us. An neighborhood where their navy outnumbers the entire US navy, their army ours and their weapon systems approaching our best as well. I assume (not based on their battle experience, but rather on a level of confidence that they have analyzed our tactics with the same adroitness that they do the rest of our technology - which they have not only copied, but improved on, that they would not squander their resources in the fashion that Russia seems willing to do.

After our (probably useless) bombing of the Houthis in Yemen this year, it was feared that we were running low on some types of munitions. How would we fare in a multi-year war of attrition against a country with the resources (manufacturing and otherwise) like China?

Jeff