81 US aircraft lost or damaged in Iran war, costing up to $3.3bn, CBO reports

The Congressional Budget Office reported Monday that at least 81 US military aircraft were lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, Washington's campaign against Iran.

• The report counted 12 F-15E Strike Eagles, one F-35A, seven KC-135 tankers and 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones.
• The CBO estimated the aircraft losses cost between $1.9bn and $3.3bn as of August 1, during the campaign launched February 28.
• Forty-five Senate Democrats and one independent wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding transparent accounting before further supplemental funding.
• The senators wrote that taxpayers already paid $100 billion in higher fuel prices and $60 billion in other costs, adding Congress never authorized the war.
• Senator Chris Murphy said the Pentagon blocked him from a US base in Qatar but that Saudi embassy damage showed a 3 March strike would have been deadly by day.
• Murphy accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of hiding the war's costs and vowed to push for congressional oversight, possibly withholding defense funding.