Pentagon Report Reveals Extent of Damage to US Bases and Aircraft in Iran War
A Pentagon Inspector General’s report has laid out in detail the military cost of Operation Epic Fury, revealing that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed dozens of American aircraft, hundreds of buildings across eight countries, and left the U.S. with serious weapons stockpile shortfalls that experts say could take years to address.
Aircraft Lost and Damaged
The scale of aircraft losses documented in the watchdog report was significant. Thirty MQ-9 Reaper drones were destroyed, each valued at roughly $30 million. Seven KC-135 refueling tankers were damaged or destroyed, including five struck in Saudi Arabia and one that crashed in Iraq on March 12, killing six service members. Four F-15E Strike Eagle fighters were destroyed. Individual losses also included an F-35A stealth fighter, an A-10 ground-attack aircraft, an E-3 Sentry early-warning aircraft, an MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone, an AH-64 Apache helicopter, an MH-60S Navy helicopter, and multiple AH-6 helicopters destroyed during rescue operations.
Bases Struck Across the Region
Iranian munitions struck U.S. military installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan, damaging or destroying hundreds of buildings at each location. The naval hub at Bahrain took particularly severe damage, forcing logistics operations to reroute through Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean on 14- to 18-day cycles. American forces in Iraq alone absorbed more than 600 separate attacks over the reporting period, costing nearly $157 million.
The report noted that diplomatic facilities also sustained significant damage, with U.S. Embassy and consulate facilities across Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE suffering a combined $184 million in losses.
US Personnel Killed and Wounded
Eleven American service members were killed in combat during the conflict period. Six died at Kuwait’s Port Shuaiba on March 1, one was killed in Saudi Arabia that same day, three were killed at Jordan’s Al Azraq base on July 17, and one died at Iraq’s Erbil airbase on July 19. Seven additional personnel died in non-hostile incidents, including one in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. In total, 417 service members were wounded in Iranian attacks.
The scope of the conflict had earlier prompted public debate about a potential military draft, with the White House declining to take the option off the table even as officials said no decision had been made.
The Financial Toll
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has put the total military cost of the war at $37.5 billion, with $22 billion of that figure attributed to munitions expended during the conflict. The State Department spent $113 million on operations, including nearly $80 million in emergency response costs and more than $11 million to evacuate approximately 9,000 U.S. citizens from affected countries in the region.
Beyond the direct costs, the report warned that the conflict “has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.” Analysts estimate it will take approximately three years to replenish advanced missile stocks to prewar levels. Congress has already approved $44 billion in emergency and non-emergency military sales to regional allies, and President Trump invoked federal law to accelerate domestic weapons stockpile replenishment.
The war began on February 28, 2026, and the ceasefire that followed has held uneasily. Peace talks stalled over the summer amid disputes over Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz, even as oil prices declined from their wartime highs.
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