A U.S. Air Force report presented to Congress says 42 aircraft were lost or damaged in the war with Iran, including 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones, which a senior Air Force official called “the most valuable player,” the Daily Mail reported on Friday.
The report comes amid heightened tensions, as the possibility of renewed fighting remains on the table despite a Saudi report on the terms of a draft agreement between Iran and the United States.
US pilot in Kuwait speaks with a local after ejecting from an F-15 hit by friendly fire
According to the report, at least 42 aircraft have been destroyed since the war began Feb. 28. They include 24 advanced MQ-9 Reaper drones, each estimated to cost about $30 million, as well as an MQ-4C drone.
The United States also lost four F-15E fighter jets, including three shot down by Kuwaiti air defense systems in a friendly fire incident March 1, the second day of the war. Each F-15E is worth about $300 million.
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US President Donald Trump stands beside an MQ-9 Reaper drone during remarks to US troops at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar
(Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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A US F-15. Three were downed in Kuwait; a fourth prompted a rescue operation for its weapons systems officer
(Photo: AP)
The fourth F-15 was shot down by Iranian forces April 3, prompting a rescue operation for the pilot and weapons systems officer that U.S. President Donald Trump called “the most daring operation in the history of the United States.”
Two MC-130J Commando II aircraft, a special operations version of the Super Hercules used for covert missions, were deliberately destroyed on the ground in Iran during the rescue operation after they failed to take off. An A-10 attack aircraft was also shot down by Iranian fire during the mission.
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An MC-130 aircraft. Two were destroyed during the rescue operation
(Photo: Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters)
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A US A-10 attack aircraft. One was shot down during the rescue operation
(Photo: CENTCOM)
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A US KC-135 refueling aircraft. Six crew members were killed in a crash in Iraq
(Photo: AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
Ten aircraft were damaged during the war, including six parked at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, which Iran targeted with missiles and drones. Among the damaged aircraft was an E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne command-and-control plane, one of the Air Force’s most important aircraft, described as the United States' “eye in the sky” in the Gulf.
An HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter was damaged by small-arms fire during the rescue operation for the downed F-15E. The congressional report also said an F-35A stealth fighter was damaged over Iran.
Other reports indicate the true losses may be higher. Four Little Bird helicopters operated by special forces, which ABC reported were also destroyed during the rescue operation, do not appear in the report submitted to Congress.
At a congressional hearing last week, Pentagon Comptroller Hay Hurst testified that the cost of the war had reached $29 billion, up from a low estimate of $25 billion just two weeks earlier.
Satellite image shows damage to a US Air Force hangar at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where six aircraft were hit
(Video: SoarAtlas)
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A US E-3 Sentry. One was destroyed in an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia
(Photo: from social media)
Air Force officials told Congress this week that the MQ-9 Reaper had been the war’s “workhorse.” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach called the drone “the most valuable player,” saying “No other platform is even close to the MQ-9” and citing strikes that consistently reduced risk to pilots.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said unmanned aircraft will play a growing role and “represent the future of the Air Force.”
But the loss of 24 Reapers has reduced the U.S. Air Force fleet to about 135 aircraft, 54 below the long-standing target of 189. Replacing them will not be simple. General Atomics, which built the drone, shut down its production line last year after the Air Force said it would stop buying the aircraft. A company representative said fewer than 10 MQ-9s remain available for sale.
Despite their importance, the budget request for unmanned systems known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft is far lower than the amount allocated for new F-35 purchases or development of the new U.S. F-47 fighter jet.
“We have had some losses in that aircraft, and we’re working to fill those losses, but in parallel, we are looking at what is the follow-on to the MQ-9 aircraft,” Air Force officials said. “It’s probably going to be not one platform, it’ll probably be multiple platforms.”
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US President Donald Trump beside a rendering of the F-47
(Photo: Annabelle Gordon / AFP)
The Air Force requested $5 billion for the F-47, whose development by Boeing was announced last year by Trump. The program is intended to produce a sixth-generation stealth fighter expected to enter service next decade.
The new fighter, which will replace the F-22, is expected to operate alongside swarms of advanced drones and include some of the world’s most advanced stealth and electronic warfare technologies.
Trump, the 47th U.S. president, described the F-47 as “the most lethal aircraft ever built,” saying it would have “unprecedented power” and that “America’s enemies will never see it coming.” He said an experimental version had been flying secretly for nearly five years and that officials believed it significantly surpassed the capabilities of any other country.