The Defense Department has spent about $550 million to date on Operation Odyssey Dawn, Robert Hale, the Pentagon's top budget official, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, March 29, 2011. Of that, roughly 60 percent was for munitions, mostly Tomahawk cruise missiles used to lay the groundwork for the implementation of the no-fly zone across Libya's northern coast, he said. Odyssey Dawn, the UN-sanctioned air operations over Libya and maritime activities off its coast to protect Libyan civilians from attack by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's forces, began March 19, 2011. Here, Air Force F-16s are shown upon their return to Aviano AB, Italy, after a mission over Libya, March 20, 2011.
Army photo by SSgt. Tierney P. Wilson
