Eighty-one. That is how many American aircraft have now been destroyed, lost or damaged in the war with Iran, according to an updated tally from the Congressional Research Service, Congress's in-house think tank. The report was revised on 5 October 2026 and covers everything from Reaper drones to an E-3 Sentry radar plane.

The number is almost double the 42 aircraft the same CRS assessment listed in May. But read the fine print before you reach for the calculator: the 81 is not a count of airframes gone forever, and not every new entry is a new loss.

What Is in the 81

Drones dominate the list. The MQ-9 Reaper accounts for 45 entries on its own, more than half the total, plus three MQ-1-series drones and one Navy MQ-4C Triton. Slow, high-flying and often operating deep over hostile territory, Reapers have been the workhorses of the campaign and the easiest targets for Iranian air defences.

The crewed list is the one that stings. It includes 12 F-15E Strike Eagle, seven KC-135 Stratotankers, two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, two MC-130J Commando IIs, one F-35A and one E-3 Sentry. Helicopters make up the rest: four Little Birds, an AH-64 Apache, an HH-60W Jolly Green II and an MH-60 Sea Hawk.

Lost, Damaged and Deliberately Destroyed

The CRS is careful to say that its tally combines aircraft that were destroyed, crashed or damaged, and that some damaged aircraft may since have returned to service. The causes vary widely: combat losses over Iran, friendly fire, Iranian missile and drone attacks on parked aircraft, and aircraft destroyed on purpose by US forces on the ground.

According to AeroTime's reading of the report, three of the F-15Es were lost to friendly fire over Kuwait in the opening days, with all crews ejecting safely, and the two MC-130Js were intentionally destroyed on the ground in Iran during a rescue operation. AeroTime adds that five of the KC-135s and the E-3 were damaged in an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Why the Number Jumped From 42 to 81

The jump from 42 in May to 81 in October does not mean 39 aircraft were lost over the summer. The CRS notes that its accounting changes as more information becomes available, so some of the additions are older incidents that only came to light later.

What the aircraft cost to replace is a separate question. In September the Congressional Budget Office estimated that replacing equipment lost through 1 August would cost between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, depending on what is bought to replace it. That figure covers equipment losses overall, not just aircraft.

For the Air Force, the uncomfortable part of the list is not the Reapers, which were always considered attritable. It is the tankers and the E-3. Both fleets were already small and ageing before the war, and every airframe taken out of service makes the next operation harder to support.

Sources: Congressional Research Service via Al Arabiya, The Defense Watch, AeroTime, Congressional Budget Office (September 2026)