At least 81 US military aircraft, including crewed planes and drones, were lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, the US campaign against Iran, according to a Congressional Budget Office assessment released this week. The estimate counts losses through 1 August and values the affected aircraft at between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion.
Drones make up the largest group
The assessment lists 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones among the affected aircraft, alongside 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighters, one F-35A Lightning II and seven KC-135 aerial refuelling tankers. The listed types account for only part of the total figure.
Former naval officer Harlan Ullman said the damage illustrates how inexpensive and widely available drones can threaten sophisticated military assets. Reports of a possible drone attack on RAF Fairford in Britain also preceded the departure of about a dozen US aircraft from the base on Sunday. US B-1 bombers had earlier been moved from a UK base amid concerns about Iranian attacks.
Wider war costs draw scrutiny
A separate CBO estimate issued in September put the overall cost of the conflict at about $38 billion as of 1 August. It projected that another month could add roughly $2 billion, rising to $3 billion if fighting returned to July’s intensity.
The Trump administration has requested $1.5 trillion in defence spending for the 2027 fiscal year. Forty-five Senate Democrats and one independent have called for a detailed account of the war’s costs before Congress considers additional funding. They also linked the conflict to higher household costs, while the Pentagon declined to comment on the latest aircraft-loss estimate.
