Comment by runako

> Wouldn't some of these costs be present either way?

This is a fair way to account for the cost, because the assets were procured and personnel hired years ago for just this purpose.

Put another way: we would not need this fleet at all if we did not expect to use it in a manner like this. (For example, Spain did not choose to have this capability and so has not borne a cost of maintaining this option for the preceding decades.) Through that lens, the true cost of this war would involve counting back to before this round of hostilities began.

It's only fair to count _at least_ the "time on task" for all the assets.