Eight months into Operation Epic Fury, the United States’ military campaign against Iran, the toll on American airpower is becoming clearer — and it’s significantly steeper than previously known. A newly updated congressional report now counts 81 U.S. military aircraft lost or damaged since the war began on Feb. 28, nearly double the 42 tallied just five months ago.
The updated report from the Congressional Research Service, dated Oct. 5, adds aircraft damaged in a September Iranian strike on a base in Jordan, helicopter losses drawn from a Pentagon inspector general report, and a significantly higher count of destroyed Reaper drones. CRS cautions that the figure is not a simple count of destroyed aircraft, noting that
“some damaged aircraft may have been returned to active service.”
The research service draws its data from public sources — news reports, Defense Department statements, and U.S. Central Command releases — and acknowledges its count
“may remain subject to revision due to multiple factors, which may include classification, ongoing combat activity, and attribution.”
The Deadliest Losses
The single deadliest incident on record remains the March 12 crash of a KC-135 Stratotanker. Two of the seven KC-135s listed in the report were involved in an incident over friendly airspace. One went down in western Iraq, killing all six crew members aboard. The other managed an emergency landing at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. Central Command said the loss was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.
Among the newly added aircraft is an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter that made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea on July 1, launched from the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush. The Navy said there was no indication of hostile action. Three of the four crew members were recovered. The fourth, identified as Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, was never found. The Navy suspended its search after more than 102 hours. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao directed that Edwards be posthumously promoted to captain.
The F-15E Rescue Mission and Its Costs
Several aircraft on the list are tied to the dramatic April mission to recover the two-person crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran. Both crew members were rescued in separate operations, but the effort came at a cost. Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said an A-10 Thunderbolt II supporting the mission crashed after taking enemy fire. The pilot flew the damaged aircraft out of Iranian airspace and ejected over friendly territory, where he was recovered safely.
An HH-60W Jolly Green II combat rescue helicopter in the same task force was also damaged by small-arms fire, Caine said. The second crew member was rescued nearly two days later in a separate special operations mission. Two MC-130J Commando II transports that had ferried commandos into Iran suffered mechanical failures and could not take off, Reuters reported. U.S. forces ultimately destroyed the two transports and four helicopters rather than risk leaving sensitive equipment behind. A Pentagon inspector general report later confirmed that four AH-6 Little Bird helicopters were destroyed during the rescue operations — a category absent from the May version of the CRS report.
Iranian Strikes on U.S. Bases
Iranian attacks on two air bases account for 15 of the aircraft on the list, all damaged on the ground. An Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia damaged five KC-135s in mid-March, Defense News reported, citing two U.S. officials. Iran hit the base again on March 27, dealing a direct hit to an E-3 Sentry aircraft. Photos published by The War Zone purportedly show the aircraft with its rear fuselage burned through, and Air & Space Forces Magazine reported the damage likely renders it beyond repair — though CRS still classifies the aircraft as damaged rather than destroyed.
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan was struck by Iranian ballistic missiles on Sept. 8-9. One A-10 lost a wing, and eight F-15Es took light damage but were returned to service, a U.S. official told Reuters. That same official said U.S. forces fired roughly 30 Patriot interceptors to defend the base. Three Army soldiers were killed at the base in a separate missile attack in July.
Drone Losses Surge
Unmanned aircraft account for most of the jump in the total count since May. The report now lists 45 MQ-9 Reapers lost, citing an Aug. 13 article in which three U.S. officials said the military had lost “at least 45” — up from as many as 30 destroyed through June 30, according to the inspector general. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach has called the Reaper perhaps the most valuable player of Operation Epic Fury.
The losses come at a difficult moment for the program. A separate Sept. 23 CRS report found the Air Force had only 135 MQ-9As as of May, down sharply from 351 in fiscal 2022. The service had already stopped buying the drone in favor of a planned successor, and its fiscal 2027 budget request included no money for new Reapers, Military Times reported.
The report also counts three MQ-1 drones downed by Iran — one confirmed by Central Command in May and at least two more reported by U.S. officials in September. The Air Force retired its MQ-1 Predators in 2018, but the Army continues to fly the related MQ-1C Gray Eagle. A Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone also crashed April 9 at an undisclosed location, according to Naval Safety Command data, which listed no cause.
Other Notable Losses
Three of the 12 F-15E Strike Eagles on the list were the war’s very first aircraft losses. A Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet mistakenly shot them down over Kuwait on March 1-2, Defense News reported. All six aircrew ejected and were recovered safely, Central Command said.
An Army AH-64 Apache was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz on June 8, according to the inspector general report. U.S. officials said a Navy drone boat rescued its two-person crew — calling it the first rescue of its kind.
Iranian ground fire damaged an F-35A Lightning II during a combat mission over Iran on March 19, forcing an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the region. The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot was reported in stable condition.
Aging Fleets Under Strain
The losses are hitting fleets that were already under pressure before the war began. The seven KC-135 tankers on the list come from an Air Force inventory of 373 KC-135s and 103 KC-46As — a fleet that a June report from the Government Accountability Office found had failed to meet the Air Force’s own readiness goals every year from fiscal 2019 through 2025.
The E-3 Sentry fleet faces an even more acute problem. The Air Force operated only 16 E-3s before the war, and six had deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base. CRS cites the aircraft as a prime example of aging, scarce platforms where combat losses could leave the military short in other parts of the world, and suggests Congress may want to weigh that risk.
A War With a Rapidly Growing Price Tag
The financial cost of the conflict has also climbed sharply. Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst told House appropriators in May that costs were running close to $29 billion. By September, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the war had cost the Pentagon roughly $38 billion through Aug. 1 — a figure that includes approximately $1.9 billion to replace equipment lost in battle, or as much as $3.3 billion if the Pentagon sought emergency funding to replace all of it. Among the equipment lost is a THAAD missile defense radar Iran destroyed. CBO noted its estimate relied on government databases and public reports because the Defense Department did not respond to its requests for information.
The White House asked Congress in June for $87.6 billion in emergency funding, including $67.1 billion for the Pentagon. Congress has not yet approved the request.
