The U.S. military has seen 81 fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft worth as much as $3.3 billion damaged or destroyed in President Donald Trump’s war with Iran so far, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Trump launched his Operation Epic Fury airstrikes against Tehran, in partnership with Israel, on February 28, since when it has seen airplanes, helicopters and drones hit in retaliatory strikes.
The total cited includes a costly F-35A fighter jet and a four-engine E-3 Sentry among the casualties, while MQ-9 Reaper drones, used for surveillance and search-and-rescue operations, account for more than half of the losses.
Based on figures from the Congressional Budget Office, the report places the total cost of the destruction at between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, depending on whether or not the Department of Defense ultimately moves to replace the lost assets.
Some of the aircraft included in the count have been repaired and returned to service, including eight F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jets that sustained only light damage when Iran struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan last month.
The total cost of the Iran conflict is more difficult to calculate but, one month into the war, analysts predicted that the U.S. was burning through $500 million a day on it. The DOD inspector general more recently estimated the price tag as $33.4 billion from its first day until June 30.
CNN now cites sources who put the overall cost even higher at $45 billion, that figure excluding the cost of infrastructure damage to U.S. military bases in the Gulf targeted by Iran in its retaliatory strikes.
In addition to the damage done to its own assets and those of its regional allies, the war has also taken the lives of 19 American soldiers and seen hundreds more injured.
Meanwhile, the blockading of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which 20 percent of global oil shipments pass, has driven up gas prices for consumers, intensifying the affordability crisis at home.
In his latest comments on the conflict, Trump has said his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is making progress in negotiations with Tehran but suggested that reaching a deal is not his preferred outcome.
“I think the deal isn’t really something that I want to do, but they’re willing to offer us anything to stop,” the president told his supporters Wednesday at a pre-midterms rally in San Antonio, Texas.
Trump and his national security team have discussed the possibility of restarting large-scale US military operations in Iran in the coming weeks, according to NBC News, including potential strikes ahead of next month’s elections.
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