The United States has lost or sustained damage to 81 military aircraft during the Iran war, nearly twice the number counted in May, according to an updated Congressional Research Service report that highlights mounting drone losses and pressure on scarce surveillance aircraft.
The Oct. 5 revision raises the tally from 42 aircraft as additional helicopter losses, a September attack on a Jordanian air base and a larger count of MQ-9 Reaper losses enter the record. At least 45 Reapers account for more than half the total.
The financial estimates cover a broader category than those aircraft. The Congressional Budget Office put the replacement cost of equipment lost through Aug. 1 at $1.9 billion to $3.3 billion, depending on the Pentagon's replacement plans. That range is not a valuation of the 81 airframes.
Nor does the aircraft tally represent 81 destroyed machines. CRS combines losses and damage, including aircraft subsequently repaired and returned to service, and draws on Pentagon statements, U.S. Central Command updates and public reporting.
Eight F-15E Strike Eagles that sustained minor damage during Iranian attacks on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Sept. 9 and 10 have resumed service. They are among 12 F-15Es in the report, alongside three reportedly brought down by friendly fire over Kuwait in March and another shot down over Iran in April.
Reaper attrition accounts for the largest share. A September Atlantic Council assessment described the loss rate as alarming, while Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach has called the drone the campaign's "most valuable player."
The Air Force had 135 MQ-9As in May, compared with 351 in fiscal 2022, according to a separate CRS report. That decline reflects retirements as well as combat losses and accidents; it cannot be attributed entirely to the Iran conflict.
Losses involving smaller fleets pose different problems. The tally includes an E-3 Sentry airborne warning-and-control aircraft, a platform whose U.S. inventory stood at just 16 before the war, with six deployed to Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Air Base.
"Congress may assess whether losses in certain high-demand platforms that are aging and limited in number, such as the E-3 Sentry, create capability gaps or increase risk in other theaters," CRS said.
Some reporting describes the E-3 as effectively destroyed, citing photographs of extensive damage, but CRS continues to classify it as damaged. The report also lists an F-35A hit by Iranian fire and seven KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft.
The deadliest single aviation incident was the March 12 crash of a KC-135 over western Iraq, which killed all six crew members. Two F-15E crew members were rescued in separate operations after their aircraft was shot down over Iran in April.
CBO estimated that the war had cost the Defense Department about $38 billion through Aug. 1, with subsequent monthly spending projected at $2 billion to $3 billion. Pentagon sources later told CNN the total had reached $45.1 billion by early September, excluding damage to regional base infrastructure.
Congress must weigh repair and replacement funding against industrial capacity and other procurement commitments, including foreign military sales. CRS cautioned that its aircraft count "may remain subject to revision due to multiple factors, which may include classification, ongoing combat activity, and attribution."
