US Reports Heavy Equipment Losses in First Month of Iran Offensive
One of the most significant recent losses was an E-3G “Sentry” Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, valued at approximately $500 million, which was destroyed in an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 27. Visual evidence released in the following days confirmed the aircraft was destroyed beyond recovery.
A KC-135 Stratotanker also crashed in western Iraq during a separate operation, killing all six crew members. Additionally, three KC-135 aircraft were destroyed in the same strike on Prince Sultan Air Base that hit the E-3G. The replacement cost of these aircraft, originally introduced in the late 1950s, is estimated at around $320 million when adjusted for inflation.
US officials confirmed that 12 MQ-9 Reaper drones were shot down, with open-source intelligence indicating three more, bringing the total to 15. With each unit costing roughly $30 million, the estimated total loss from drones is about $450 million.
On March 24, FPV drones struck a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter at the former US base Camp Victory in Iraq, valued at about $20 million.
During the second day of attacks, three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were lost in a friendly-fire incident involving Kuwaiti air defenses. All six crew members survived, but the aircraft were destroyed, with replacement costs estimated at $282 million. In addition, an F-35 stealth fighter was damaged and forced to make an emergency landing, with an estimated replacement cost of roughly $100 million.
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