Staff Reporter:
The US military has lost or recorded damages to at least 42 aircraft as a result of both friendly and enemy fire during the war on Iran, according to a recent US government analysis that compiled news reports and officials’ statements.
The Congressional Research Service report comes as lawmakers push Pentagon leaders for more clarity on timelines, costs and outcomes pertaining to Operation Epic Fury.
The hits include: an F-35A Lightning II, worth around $110 million, four F-15 Strike Eagles, worth total $300 million, and 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones, worth total $720 million.
Pentagon acting comptroller Jules Hurst testified to Congress this month that the estimated cost of military operations in Iran had reached $29 billion.
The figure includes equipment repair and replacement costs but does not account for damage to US military bases in the Middle East that came under retaliatory attack by Iran, Hurst said. The war started with joint American-Israeli strikes against Tehran on 28 February.
The report also noted that several US aircraft were lost or damaged during search-and-rescue operations after an F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran in April.
In addition to the fighter jet, the US lost an A-10 Thunderbolt II and two MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft, which were intentionally destroyed on the ground in Iran during the operation.
One search-and-rescue helicopter, an HH-60W Jolly Green II, also sustained damage from small-arms fire in the mission.
Early in the war, a KC-135 refuelling tanker flying in friendly airspace in Iraq crashed, killing all six crew members aboard. Another tanker was involved and made an emergency landing, according to the report.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but initial intelligence reports suggested that the pilots may have been trying to evade anti-aircraft fire from Iran-backed militias, according to recent reporting from The Atlantic.
US Central Command has disputed those early intelligence reports, and the Air Force-led investigation is likely to conclude that the crash was an “avoidable mishap” in congested airspace, The Atlantic said.
Other aircraft that the report says were damaged or lost during Operation Epic Fury include:
· Three F-15E Strike Eagle fighters shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.
· Five KC-135 refuelling tankers parked at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia that were damaged during an Iranian missile and drone attack.
· One F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft damaged by Iranian ground fire.
· One E-3 Sentry aircraft damaged while parked on an unprotected taxiway at Prince Sultan Air Base.
