A Congressional Research Service report released this week documents that the United States military has lost or sustained damage to 81 aircraft in the war with Iran, with total costs estimated between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, depending on the Defense Department's replacement plans. The report compiles data from the Defense Department, its inspector general, US Central Command, and news reports.
The losses span a broad range of military platforms. MQ-9 Reaper drones, used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat operations, account for more than half of the total losses, with at least 45 destroyed or damaged. The report also documents the loss or damage of 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, including three shot down in friendly-fire incidents over Kuwait on March 2 and one shot down over Iran in the following month. Eight additional F-15Es sustained minor damage during Iranian airstrikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on September 9 and 10, though these aircraft have since returned to service. The losses also include damage to one F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter, valued at more than $92 million, and the loss of one E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft, estimated at $270 million.
The scale of drone losses has significantly impacted US operational capacity. The MQ-9 fleet has declined to 135 deployable aircraft, according to an Air Force general's statement to the Senate in May, falling below the Air Force's requirement to maintain at least 189 deployable Reaper drones. The Air Force has lost approximately 35 percent of its MQ-9s since 2004, according to reporting cited in the sources. Forty-five MQ-9 losses occurred in the Middle East during 2026 alone, described as "an alarming rate" in a September report from the Atlantic Council. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach characterized the MQ-9 as the military's "most valuable player" in the Iran war.
Beyond the aircraft losses, the report highlights broader fiscal and strategic impacts. The total cost of the war in Iran has reached at least $45 billion according to sources cited in the reporting, with weapons costs alone climbing from $21.7 billion in the latest Congressional Budget Office report to $28.1 billion in a US Central Command estimate—an increase of more than $6 billion in just over a month. These figures do not include damage to infrastructure at US bases in the region where some losses occurred.
The Congressional Research Service report raises several questions for Congress to consider. These include whether lawmakers are receiving sufficient information from the Pentagon to assess losses and remedies, whether to provide funding for repairs or replacements, whether US industrial capacity can meet replacement requirements, and what effects the losses may have on US military sales to foreign partners. The report also questions how the Iran war has affected US military posture outside the Middle East, noting that "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."
Defense Department reporting on aircraft losses has been described as vague. The Pentagon inspector general's report on losses, released in September and covering February 28 to June 30, cited previous Congressional Research Service reports for some of its aircraft loss numbers, indicating reliance on earlier analysis. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new Congressional Research Service findings.
One cost estimation discrepancy emerged in the reporting: The Washington Times calculated that replacement of all 81 aircraft at full replacement prices would cost $5.1 billion, higher than the Congressional Budget Office estimates cited in the Congressional Research Service report.
