Govind Tekale
Congress will be asked to replace what the Iran campaign destroyed. The question is whether the authorization will come with a serious accounting of what the losses cost and what they bought.
A Congressional Research Service report updated on 5 October 2026 counted at least 81 US aircraft reported lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury. The updated breakdown includes 12 F-15E Strike Eagles, one F-35A, two A-10s, seven KC-135 tankers, one E-3, two MC-130J aircraft, one HH-60W helicopter, one MQ-4C Triton, three MQ-1s, 45 MQ-9 Reapers, one AH-64, four AH-6s, and one MH-60. The CRS noted that some damaged aircraft returned to service and that the count may continue to change as losses are classified or attributed. One KC-135 went down over western Iraq on 12 March, killing all six crew members. The Congressional Budget Office estimated total added Defense Department costs at about $38.1 billion as of 1 August 2026.
The updated figure of 81 supersedes the May 2026 report, which had counted 42. Congress has not yet voted on a replacement supplemental.
Who Pays and How the Funding Gets Authorized
Replacing combat losses of this scale typically requires emergency defense supplemental appropriations, which are separate from the baseline Pentagon budget. The administration requested an $87.6 billion supplemental, which had not been approved at the time of this writing. Congress may also use existing appropriations, transfers, or reprogramming authority depending on available budget authority. Any supplemental that is passed adds to the federal deficit and is financed through Treasury borrowing.
The per-unit cost of what was lost varies widely. An MQ-9 Reaper runs approximately $30 million. An F-35A costs more than $80 million. KC-135 tankers are legacy airframes; their replacement value in 2026 dollars, accounting for the KC-46A Pegasus as the modern equivalent, is roughly $150 million per aircraft. Seven tanker losses alone, on replacement-cost terms, exceed $1 billion before the cost of training crews or integrating systems. These figures are approximate; procurement costs vary by contract, configuration, and lot.
The Strategic Accounting Question
The October count is dominated numerically by MQ-9 drone losses. Defense analysts who have written on the campaign argue that replacing those assets with identical models restores headcount but does not address the vulnerability that produced the losses, and that the shift toward autonomous long-range systems deserves consideration alongside the procurement request.
Domestically, the supplemental vote will compete against expiring domestic program funding and debt ceiling pressure. Congress has authorized emergency war funding without detailed strategic review before; this is not the first time the question will be asked and not the first time it may go unanswered in the authorization vote itself.
Where does the money for aircraft replacements come from?
The administration requested an emergency supplemental appropriation. Congress may also use existing budget authority through transfers or reprogramming. Any new appropriation adds to the federal deficit.
How many of the 81 aircraft were drones vs. crewed?
The October CRS count includes approximately 49 uncrewed aircraft—45 MQ-9 Reapers, three MQ-1s, and one MQ-4C Triton. The remaining losses were crewed aircraft including fighters, tankers, special operations transports, attack helicopters, and a rescue helicopter.
Has the US replaced aircraft lost in previous wars on a full-cost basis?
Not consistently. After Iraq and Afghanistan, some legacy platforms were retired rather than replaced. The replacement decision is a mix of strategic priorities and budget availability, not a one-for-one automatic process.
Track the supplemental authorization vote through the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and the Senate and House Appropriations Committees. The CRS report is available through the Federation of American Scientists’ congressional document archive.
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