Washington. America has suffered heavy military losses in military operations conducted against Iran. According to a US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, at least 81 US military fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, drones and helicopters have been destroyed or damaged since the war began. The cost of replacing these military assets has been estimated to be as high as $3.3 billion. However, this amount is not the actual amount spent but an upper estimate of the potential cost of replacing the equipment.
12 F-15E Strike Eagle also on loss list
The report mentions the loss or damage of 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter planes of the US Air Force. Three of these aircraft were reportedly downed in friendly-fire incidents over Kuwait on March 2, while another F-15E was reported downed over Iran in April.
In addition, eight F-15E aircraft suffered minor damage during Iranian attacks on Muwaffaq Salati Air Base in Jordan in September. According to reports, some of the damaged aircraft later returned to service.
45 MQ-9 Reaper drones also damaged
The largest number of US military assets are MQ-9 Reaper drones. According to reports at least 45 MQ-9 Reapers have been affected. The estimated price of a Reaper drone is said to be around 30 to 50 million dollars depending on its capacity and equipment.
The MQ-9 is used for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as precision strikes. Such a large number of losses has revealed increased operational pressure on the US drone fleet.
F-35, E-3 Sentry and KC-135 also affected
America's state-of-the-art F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft is also included in the list of losses. According to reports, an F-35A was damaged by Iranian firing in March.
Apart from this, an E-3 Sentry Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft is also in the list. Its estimated price is said to be around 27 crore dollars. Seven KC-135 Stratotanker air-refueling aircraft are also included in the loss list.
Helicopters and other military aircraft also included
The CRS figures also include two A-10 Thunderbolt II, two MC-130J Commando II, one HH-60W Jolly Green II, one MQ-4C Triton, three MQ-1 drones, one AH-64 Apache, four AH-6 Little Bird and one MH-60 Sea Hawk.
The report has also made it clear that the figure of 81 cannot be considered final. Information related to some military incidents remains classified, the circumstances surrounding the war are changing, and in some incidents it is difficult to determine responsibility for losses. Some damaged aircraft may return to service after repair.
What does the figure of $3.3 billion tell?
The potential cost of compensating for the loss of US military equipment is estimated at between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion. This estimate depends on how and to what extent the United States replaces lost or damaged equipment. Therefore, it would not be correct to consider $3.3 billion as the amount spent directly on the war so far.
These loss figures in the Iran conflict have sparked a new discussion about the cost of US military operations and the long-term availability of aircraft, drones and special surveillance systems. However, the actual figures for military losses related to the war may change in the future.