A new Congressional Research Service assessment says the United States has lost or suffered damage to at least 81 military aircraft since the war in Iran began, with the total value of those losses estimated at up to $3.3 billion.
Among the aircraft affected are some of the US military’s most sophisticated platforms, including an F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter and 12 F-15E Strike Eagle jets that were either damaged or destroyed.
Three F-15Es, each valued at more than $30 million, were brought down in a friendly-fire incident over Kuwait on March 2. A fourth was shot down over Iran the following month.
Eight additional F-15Es suffered minor damage during Iranian airstrikes on Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on September 9 and 10.
The damaged fighters have since been repaired and returned to operational service, according to the report.
The report also details the loss of at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, each estimated to cost between $30 million and $50 million.
The losses reduced the Air Force’s Reaper fleet to 135 aircraft, a general told the Senate in May. The drones are used for both intelligence-gathering missions and precision missile strikes.
According to the Air Force Times, the service is expected to maintain at least 189 deployable MQ-9 Reapers at any given time.
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The Congressional Research Service analysis also recorded damage to an F-35A, a fifth-generation fighter valued at more than $92 million, after the aircraft came under Iranian fire on March 19.
Another major loss was a $270 million E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft. The aging plane, built on the Boeing 707 airframe, remains a key part of the US military’s airborne monitoring capabilities.
The Air Force had 32 E-3 Sentry aircraft in service as of 2015.
The United States also lost an A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft in April, while a second A-10 was damaged during the September assault on the Jordanian base.
Total list of US aircraft lost or damaged in Iran war:
Last month, US Central Command estimated that the total cost of the war in Iran grew to $43.6 billion — a $5 billion increase from August.
Weapons costs also jumped 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.
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.