U.S. reports 81 aircraft and drones lost or damaged in Iran conflict, losses up to $3.3 B

An updated Congressional Research Service report released on Oct. 5 says at least 81 U.S. military aircraft and drones have been lost or damaged since the war with Iran began in February, with equipment losses estimated between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion.

The losses include 45 MQ‑9 Reaper drones, three MQ‑1 drones and one MQ‑4C Triton, while crewed aircraft losses comprise 12 F‑15E Strike Eagles, seven KC‑135 Stratotankers, two A‑10 Thunderbolt IIs, one F‑35A Lightning II and one E‑3 Sentry; three F‑15Es were destroyed by friendly fire over Kuwait in March and another over Iran in April, and eight were lightly damaged in an Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan before returning to service, while KC‑135 incidents involved a fatal crash in Iraq, an emergency landing, and damage to five aircraft on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.