When Operation Epic Fury began on 28 February 2026, the US campaign against Iran was met the same day by an Iranian missile strike on the main headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain. Iran described the strike as retaliation for US-Israeli attacks.
The military losses that followed have now been set out in a Congressional Research Service report updated on 5 October 2026. It records at least 81 US aircraft, drones and helicopters lost or damaged since the campaign began.
Some of the early losses came from friendly fire. Three F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down over Kuwait on 2 March 2026, and all six crew members ejected safely.
In late March, an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft was struck at Prince Sultan Air Base after it had been parked on an unprotected taxiway.
A fourth F-15E was shot down during combat operations over Iran. Its two crew members were recovered in separate rescue operations.
Two MC-130J special operations aircraft were then intentionally destroyed on the ground in Iran after they became unable to leave during an effort to recover the downed F-15E crew.
By May 2026, an earlier version of the Congressional Research Service report counted 42 aircraft as lost or damaged, including four destroyed F-15E Strike Eagles.
That May tally also included 24 MQ-9 Reapers and one MQ-4C Triton that had been damaged or lost.
The latest report lists 12 F-15E Strike Eagles among the aircraft lost or damaged, as well as one F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter and two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft.
Five KC-135 tankers were damaged during an Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The report’s wider account also records Iranian strikes that damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan. US diplomatic facilities in four countries also suffered physical damage from Iranian strikes.
The Congressional Research Service based its tally on US military statements, media reports and findings by the Department of Defense inspector general. Its 5 October update brought the documented total to at least 81 aircraft, drones and helicopters.
A September 2026 Congressional Budget Office estimate put the replacement cost of equipment lost through 1 August at between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion.
The total remains provisional. The report says ongoing combat, classification issues and questions over attribution could alter the number.
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