US friendly fire over Iran causes $300 million damage with 42 fighter jets lost or damaged
The latest report confirms concerns around the spiralling costs of the Iran War, which were confirmed to have risen to $29 billion
The US has lost or damaged 42 aircraft during the Iran War as the defence costs of the Iran War rose to £25 billion, according to a congressional report.
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The report comes just days after Jules W. Hurst III, Acting Pentagon Comptroller, confirmed that the defence costs of the operations in Iran had risen to $29 billion.
Three of the fighter jets downed by friendly fire over Kuwait were reported to have incurred costs of around $300 million in damage alone.
The Congressional Research Service reports support earlier data about the cost of the jets which were downed in Kuwait in March. This new report details every lost or damaged aircraft in the conflict.
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Four of the aircraft have been identified as F-15E Strike Eagles, an older model with costly replacement parts. A single F-15E Strike Eagle costs approximately $90 to $125 million per unit, according to Air Force estimates.
Three were downed over Kuwait in friendly fire, while the fourth was downed over Iran as U.S. and Israeli authorities rushed to retrieve pilots and crew unharmed.
The military also faced the loss of one F-35A Lightning II, which is thought to cost around $82.5 million, as well as an A-10 Thunderbolt II (known as the "Warthog") worth approximately $13.4 million, and seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft, each estimated to cost between $65 million and $79 million.
The report also detailed that twenty-four MQ-9 Reaper medium-altitude long-endurance uncrewed aircraft were either downed or damaged in circumstances which were unclear.
Just one of these aircraft costs roughly $30 million to $34 million for the plane alone, but the additional costs of the "flyaway system," including drone, sensors, Ground Control Stations, and satellite links, bring the total value of the aircraft to around $56.5 million.
This comes as concerns grow about the spiralling costs of the conflict in the gulf - despite the US claiming to have ceased all combat operations - and the cost on the average household continues to rise due to the conflict's impact on energy and oil.