CRS reports 81 U.S. military aircraft lost or damaged since Feb. 28

The Congressional Research Service now lists 81 U.S. military aircraft as lost or damaged since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, a number that nearly doubles the 42 aircraft counted in May.

An Oct. 5 revision adds jets damaged in a September Iranian strike on a base in Jordan, adds helicopter losses drawn from a Pentagon inspector‑general report, and adds a sharply higher count of lost Reaper drones; the deadliest loss was the March 12 crash of a KC‑135 Stratotanker in western Iraq that killed all six crew members, and the list includes 12 F‑15E Strike Eagles.