Iran has downed 42 US fighter jets as Trump’s war costs spirals to $29 billion | World | News

According to a congressional report, the United States lost or damaged 42 aircraft during the Iran War; this increased the War Department’s cost estimate for the operations to $29 billion.

The report emerged just days after Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules W. Hurst III testified at a May 12 hearing that the department’s cost estimate for military operations in Iran had risen to $29 billion.

It has been confirmed that three of the planes shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait alone caused an estimated $300 million in damage. The report, submitted by the Congressional Research Service, confirmed earlier reports on the cost of jets shot down over Kuwait in March.

The new report catalogs all aircraft lost or damaged during the conflict.

Four of them were identified as F-15E Strike Eagles, an older model with expensive spare parts. A single F-15E Strike Eagle costs about $90 million to $125 million per unit, according to Air Force estimates. Three were shot down in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait, while the fourth was shot down over Iran as US and Israeli forces raced to rescue the pilots and crew unharmed.

The Army also lost an F-35A Lightning II worth about $82.5 million, an A-10 Thunderbolt II (commonly known as the “Warthog”) worth about $13.4 million, and seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft worth between $65 million and $79 million each.

According to the report, twenty-four MQ-9 Reaper medium-altitude long-endurance uncrewed aircraft were shot down or damaged in unspecified circumstances.

The cost of a single one of these planes is roughly $30 to $34 million for the plane alone, but with a complete “flight system” that includes the drone, sensors, Ground Control Stations, and satellite links, it reaches about $56.5 million per plane.