Damage to US planes from Iranian strike on Prince Sultan AFB, Saudi Arabia.
Diplomatic Insight – Oct 7, 2026
At least 81 United States’ military aircraft have been damaged or destroyed since Washington and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, according to an updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
The figure is the most comprehensive public accounting yet of America’s aviation losses in the conflict. The report, updated October 5, draws on news accounts, Defense Department statements, US Central Command and the Pentagon’s inspector general.
The earlier edition, issued in May, listed 42 aircraft. CRS cautioned that the gap between the two totals does not necessarily reflect new losses, because tallies shift as more information emerges. The count also includes damaged aircraft, some of which may have returned to service.
Unmanned systems account for the largest share. The report lists 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones and one MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone.
Crewed aircraft include 12 F-15E Strike Eagles, two A-10 attack jets, seven KC-135 tankers and one E-3 Sentry airborne warning aircraft.
Many incidents are detailed in the May edition. Three F-15Es were downed by friendly fire over Kuwait on March 2, and all six crew members ejected safely.
Another was shot down over Iran, with both crew rescued. Two MC-130J special operations aircraft were deliberately destroyed on the ground in Iran after they could not take off during a recovery mission for a downed F-15E crew. Their crews were evacuated.
Several aircraft were hit on the ground. Accounts cited in the May report said five KC-135 tankers were damaged in an Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. An E-3 was struck there in a separate attack in late March, reportedly while parked on an unprotected taxiway.
The losses carry budget and strategic consequences. A September Congressional Budget Office estimate put the cost of replacing equipment lost through August 1 at $1.9 billion to $3.3 billion, depending on Pentagon replacement plans.
The figure covers all equipment, not only aircraft. The CBO separately estimated the Defense Department spent about $38 billion on the war in its first five months.
CRS flagged the loss of aging, low-inventory platforms such as the E-3 as a particular concern. Lawmakers must decide whether to fund repairs and replacements, and whether the losses point to gaps in capability, strain on operations elsewhere, or the need to change equipment, tactics or basing.
Vulnerability on the ground has already shaped deployments. The US Air Force pulled its B-1B Lancer bombers out of RAF Fairford in England on October 4.
Reuters, citing two US officials, reported that fears of a suspected Iranian drone plot drove the move. Iran denied involvement, and US European Command declined to discuss intelligence or force-protection measures.
A September 14 Pentagon inspector general report, covering February 28 to June 30, had already found more than 50 US aircraft damaged or destroyed, along with hundreds of damaged buildings and facilities.
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