Not since similar no-fly zones were employed in Iraq and the Balkans during the 1990s has the Pentagon committed such expensive resources outside a war zone as it has in Libya. This is very small compared to what we’re spending in Afghanistan right now,” says Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He estimated the initial cost of a no-fly zone at $400 million to $1 billion, with weekly operational costs from $30 million to $300 million.