US Army Equipment Losses Approach USD5B Due to War on Iran
The most significant recent loss involved an E-3G “Sentry” Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, valued at approximately $500 million, which was destroyed during an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 27. Subsequent visual evidence confirmed the aircraft was destroyed beyond repair.
A KC-135 Stratotanker also crashed in western Iraq during an operation on Thursday, killing all six crew members. Three additional KC-135 tankers were destroyed in the same strike at Prince Sultan Air Base that hit the E-3G. Replacement costs for the KC-135, which was first introduced in the late 1950s, are estimated at around $320 million per aircraft when adjusted for inflation.
U.S. officials confirmed that 12 MQ-9 Reaper drones were shot down, with open-source intelligence suggesting three more were lost, bringing the total to 15 drones. With each unit costing roughly $30 million, drone losses are estimated at about $450 million.
On March 24, FPV drones targeted the former U.S. base Camp Victory in Iraq, striking a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter valued at approximately $20 million.
During the second day of strikes, three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were destroyed in a friendly-fire incident involving Kuwaiti air defenses. All six crew members survived, but the replacement cost for the aircraft is estimated at $282 million. An F-35 stealth fighter jet was also damaged and forced to make an emergency landing, with an estimated replacement cost of about $100 million, according to reports.
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