US Military Losses in Operation Epic Fury

US military equipment losses in Operation Epic Fury have been detailed in recent reports from the Department of Defense Inspector General, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and The War Zone, among others. The figures offer a rare quantified window into how much the US military actually spends and loses in high-intensity combat.

Debates over whether the US military is in decline often rest on impressions. Concrete loss data — especially for drones and crewed aircraft — shows the real attrition and shortfalls such operations expose.

MQ-9A Reaper losses stand out

The MQ-9A Reaper has taken the heaviest toll. The CBO counted 24 lost; The War Zone, drawing on open-source intelligence, put the figure at 30; The Washington Post, citing US officials, reported that at least 45 MQ-9As were shot down, crashed or destroyed on the ground — about a quarter of the pre-war fleet. At the $30 million foreign military sales unit price, that is $720 million to $900 million in total; with a full sensor and weapons load, a single aircraft can cost close to $50 million. US Air Force public data show that, as of May, the number of available MQ-9A airframes had fallen to 135 from 165 at the start of fiscal year 2026.

In April, an MQ-4C Triton drone was lost while returning to the US air station at Sigonella, Italy, and crashed in the Persian Gulf; the cause is unknown. In late May, US Central Command announced that an MQ-1 drone had been shot down over international waters. The US military operates only about 20 MQ-4Cs, each costing about $150 million; according to US Navy budget documents, the unit price is as high as $238 million.

Crewed aircraft losses and the cost of rescue

Crewed aircraft have also suffered losses. The KC-135 tanker was hit hardest: two were destroyed outright and as many as seven were damaged. As the main aerial refueling platform, the KC-135 keeps fighters, bombers and transports flying, so its losses directly affect sortie rates.

The F-15E Strike Eagle did not escape either. At the start of Operation Epic Fury, three F-15Es were destroyed by friendly fire over Kuwait. On April 3, another F-15E was shot down over Iran, prompting a US search-and-rescue operation. On September 8–9, a ballistic missile salvo against Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan damaged about eight F-15Es. During the April 3–5 mission to rescue the F-15E crew, several aircraft were damaged, including two MC-130J special-operations transports, four MH-6 helicopters and two A-10C attack aircraft. The most valuable crewed aircraft damaged so far is an E-3G Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft.

How to read the numbers

The loss figures come from different sources with different accounting methods and time frames, but they point to one fact: even against an adversary like Iran, the US military pays a considerable price in high-intensity operations. The heavy drone losses expose the aircraft’s survivability problems in contested environments; the crewed aircraft losses involve friendly fire, ground attacks and combat search and rescue.

Still, losses in a single operation do not simply equal an overall military decline. The US military still has the world’s largest defense budget, the widest base network and extensive combat experience. But the details of equipment losses and munitions consumption are a reminder that staying on top requires sustained investment.