A new Congressional Research Service report has revealed that the United States has had at least 81 US military aircraft lost or damaged since the war in Iran began. The loss totals as much as $3.3 billion, including some of America’s most advanced warplanes, including one damaged F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter and 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighters that have been destroyed or damaged.
Three of the F-15 jets, which were worth more than $30 million each, were shot down in friendly fire over Kuwait on March 2. The following month, one more was shot down over Iran.
Eight other F-15Es sustained minor damage during Iran’s airstrikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, in Jordan, on September 9 and 10. The report said that the damaged aircraft have been returned to service.
One more huge loss came in the form of at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones. These are estimated to be worth between $30 to $50 million each.
The losses prompted the fleet of the drones to drop to 135, an Air Force general told the Senate in May. Per the Air Force Times, the Air Force is meant to have at least 189 deployable Reaper drones at any time.
{{/usCountry}}The losses prompted the fleet of the drones to drop to 135, an Air Force general told the Senate in May. Per the Air Force Times, the Air Force is meant to have at least 189 deployable Reaper drones at any time.
{{/usCountry}}There was also damage sustained by a fifth-generation F-34A, which is one of America’s most advanced warplanes, worth more than $92 million. It came under fire from Iran on March 19.
The Congressional Research Service also stressed that there was the loss of one $270 million E-3 Sentry surveillance plane. The Airforce says that the US had 32 in operation as of 2015.
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In April, the US lost an A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft. Another was damaged during the September attack on Jordan.
Full list of US aircraft lost or damaged in the Iran war
Here is the total list of US aircraft lost or damaged in the Iran war:
- 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets
- One F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter
- Two A-10 “Warthog” attack jets
- Seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft
- One E-3 Sentry spy plane
- Two MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft
- One HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search-and-rescue helicopter
- One MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance drone
- Three MQ-1 multi-role drone
- One AH-64 Apache attack helicopter
- Four AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopters
- One MH-60 Sea Hawk maritime helicopter
US Central Command estimated last month that the total cost of the war in Iran rose to $43.6 billion, which is a $5 billion increase from August. Meanwhile, weapons costs increased by more than $6 billion in just over a month, from $21.7 billion listed in the latest Congressional Budget Office report to $28.1 billion in US Central Command’s estimate.