US loses 81 warplanes, drones, and helicopters in conflict with Iran

At least 81 US warplanes, drones and helicopters have been destroyed or damaged in the past eight months since the start of the military conflict with Iran. This weaponry is worth about $3.3 billion.

This information was recently revealed in a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the parliamentary organization for investigations and inquiries of the US Parliament Congress. The report was submitted to Congress by the CRS on October 5.

The report said that the destroyed military aircraft included 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, one F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet, and two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft.

On March 2, US forces shot down three F-15E aircraft in friendly fire over Kuwait. In April, another aircraft was destroyed during a combat operation over Iran. 

The CRS report also noted that eight other F-15E aircraft were slightly damaged during an Iranian attack on the Muwaffaq Salti air base in Jordan in September.

One of the US military's most advanced fighter jets, the F-35A-T, was damaged in an Iranian attack on March 19. The aircraft was later returned to service. A significant portion of the total damage was caused by drones. 

According to the latest count provided in a congressional report, CRS' inventory includes at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones. The Reaper drone is used for surveillance and missile strikes.

Due to losses in various incidents, the US Air Force's MQ-9 drone fleet was reduced to 135 by May; at least 189 deployable Reaper drones were needed at the time.

Three F-15Es were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait on March 2, and another was destroyed during a combat mission over Iran in April. The report also noted that eight more F-15Es were slightly damaged in an Iranian attack on the Mawaffak Salti air base in Jordan in September.

The CRS list of destroyed warplanes and military aircraft also includes seven KC-135 Stratotankers (air refueling aircraft), an E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft, two MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft, and an HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search and rescue helicopter.

There is also one MQ-4C Triton drone, three MQ-1 drones, one AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, four AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopters, and one MH-60 Seahawk helicopter.

The loss of the E-3 Sentry is particularly significant because it provides airborne surveillance and command-and-control capabilities. The aircraft, based on the Boeing 707 structure, was already in limited use by the US Air Force.

The CRS' updated number is almost double the 42 aircraft reported in the previous version of the report, published in May. The increase does not mean that 39 more aircraft have been lost since May. The CRS said its count could change as new information becomes available and previously unreported losses are identified.

On February 28, the US military launched a military operation against Iran, Operation Epic Fury. After about three and a half months, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the end of Operation Epic Fury in the first week of June. However, despite Rubio's announcement of the end of the military operation, Iran and the US have regularly attacked each other in the following months.

There has been a lull in military strikes since the US announced its economic campaign against Iran, Operation Economic Outcast, last August. However, tensions between Tehran and the US remain high, and security analysts believe that the two sides could launch military strikes against each other again at any time.

Source: New York Post