President Donald Trump’s war with Iran has left dozens of U.S. airplanes damaged and destroyed, a new congressional report has revealed.
Casualties and equipment loss reports have been few and far between for a war that has cost the U.S. billions, with the Defense Department failing to publish its own comprehensive summary of the damage suffered during the fighting.
Several major incidents, such as the downing of two F-15E Strike Eagle pilots over Iran, have garnered significant attention, while other incidents have flown more under the radar. Now the Congressional Research Service says the total number of lost or damaged aerial vehicles could be as high as 42.
The group serves as a nonpartisan think tank that provides information to Congress. It used DoD and CENTCOM statements, as well as news reports, to build a picture of the actual losses of military fixed- and rotary-wing, manned and unmanned aircraft.
It covered key incidents such as the downed Strike Eagle, which led to a high-stakes search and rescue mission in early April, as well as three more F-15E Strike Eagles that were shot down in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait.
In 1998, each one cost around $30 million, equivalent to around $65 million now.
The U.S. also destroyed a pair of its own $114 million MC-130J Commando II special operations support aircraft while rescuing the pilots.
The search also saw an HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue helicopter damaged by ground fire as it flew over Iran. They cost north of $40 million each.
A general-purpose F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter, thought to cost around $100 million, has also been damaged, and a $20 million A-10 Thunderbolt II used for close air support was destroyed.
The report also includes the loss or damage of seven $70 million KC-135 Stratotankers, used as flying gas stations, and an E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne radar, the replacement of which the Wall Street Journal says will cost $700 million, and of which the U.S. has little more than a dozen.
There have also been losses of 24 $30 million hunter-killer MQ-9 Reaper drones, and one $240 million reconnaissance and surveillance MQ-4C Triton drone. The Triton drones are so expensive that only 20 have been produced for service.
In April, Pentagon officials told Congress that $25 billion had already been spent on the fighting, although Democratic leaders think the real number could be far higher.
On May 12, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst said that the number had now gone up to $29 billion, saying, “A lot of that increase comes from having a refined estimate on repair or replacement costs for equipment.”
U.S. officials familiar with internal assessments told CBS News that the offensive’s true price tag to date is closer to $50 billion.
During his testimony before lawmakers in April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth adopted a combative tone.
“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” he said.
As well as losses to aircraft, 13 service members have been killed in the fighting, six of whom were on board one of the Stratotankers which went down over friendly territory.
More than 350 Americans are also thought to have been injured, amid a furor about not enough being done to protect troops in combat zones.
A strike on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait on March 1 killed six American troops, including Master Sgt. Nicole Amor.
Survivors have questioned whether defenses against drones were sufficient to mitigate the danger, while a new interview with CBS News has also revealed that more medical supplies were requested in the weeks running up to the strike.
“This was a failure,” Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom told the network about Amor’s death. “She could have been saved. She fought the whole way and was trying to stay alive.”
“No plan is ever perfect, but accusations suggesting blatant disregard for the safety of our forces are unfounded and inaccurate,” Capt. Tim Hawkins of U.S. Central Command told the network.
Meanwhile, 3,468 people are thought to have been killed in Iran, their ages ranging from eight months to 88 years, Iran’s Ministry of Health has said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Defense Department and CENTCOM for comment.
