Report: US military assets worth billions damaged or lost in Iran war
Among the incidents cited, three F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by a Kuwaiti aircraft on March 1, while an F-35 stealth jet made an emergency landing on March 16 after reportedly coming under fire. Iran claims...
Iclal TuranSaturday March 28, 2026
US military hardware worth billions of dollars has been damaged or destroyed since the US-Israeli war on Iran began, with Iranian missile and drone attacks responsible for much of the destruction, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Friday.
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In the opening three weeks of fighting, losses are estimated at between $1.4 billion and $2.9 billion, Elaine McCusker, a former Pentagon budget official now with the American Enterprise Institute, told the newspaper.
Among the incidents cited, three F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by a Kuwaiti aircraft on March 1, while an F-35 stealth jet made an emergency landing on March 16 after reportedly coming under fire. Iran claims it targeted the aircraft, according to the report.
A separate incident over Iraq saw two KC-135 refueling planes collide in midair, killing six crew members. Five additional KC-135s were damaged in an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and are now being repaired.
More than a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones have also been lost, including several taken down by missiles and others destroyed while on the ground. Iranian attacks further damaged aircraft and radar systems at US bases in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan.
A fire broke out on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford on March 12; the vessel is now being repaired at Souda Bay, Greece, according to the US Navy.
The Pentagon is expected to seek replacement funding for some of the damaged systems through a proposed $200 billion supplemental spending request.
Anadolu could not independently verify the reported losses.
Tensions in the region surged after Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran that killed more than 1,340 people. Iran has since answered with drone and missile attacks aimed at Israel and Gulf states that host US military assets.
Since the operations began, 13 US service members have been killed and about 290 others wounded.