A Pentagon watchdog has revealed that the United States lost dozens of aircraft, including at least 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones, and that hundreds of buildings and structures used by the US were damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks during the conflict.
asserted
hundreds → reveal → conflict
The report published on Monday by the Department of Defense inspector general offers the first official account of the losses Washington has incurred in the war from February 28 to June 30.
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Washington → publish → June
Moreover, the report acknowledges that the US is running short on its munition stockpile and facing “bottlenecks” in supply chains, contradicting President Donald Trump’s repeated pushback.
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US → acknowledge → pushback
On Monday, Trump said the US is producing “more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History”.
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US → say → History
Previously, he asserted that the US has “virtually unlimited” ammunition after reports of shortages by the US media.
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US → assert → media
Throughout the war – beginning with the US-Israel attacks on Iran in late February – Tehran has routinely bombed US bases and assets in the Gulf region.
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Tehran → begin → region
For most of those attacks, Gulf countries and Washington said the incoming strikes had been intercepted and thwarted.
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strikes → say → attacks
But the Pentagon’s report paints a picture of significant damage and losses running into millions of dollars to US forces and facilities in the region, far more than previously acknowledged.
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report → paint → region
So, what losses has the US incurred in its war on Iran?
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US → incur → Iran
How many US personnel were killed?
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personnel → kill → ?
The Pentagon’s report says the Defense Department has reported that at least 11 US military personnel were “killed in action”, while seven died in “non-hostile events” during the war.
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seven → say → war
At least six were killed at Kuwait’s Port Shuaiba on March 1; one in Saudi Arabia on the same day; three at Jordan’s Muwaffaq al-Salti airbase, or the Al Azraq base, on July 17; and one at Iraq’s Erbil airbase on July 19, in Iranian attacks.
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six → kill → attacks
The report added that at least six personnel were killed after a premier jet-powered aerial refuelling tanker KC-135 crashed in Iraq on March 12, while another was killed after an MH-60S helicopter crashed in the Arabian Sea on July 1.
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helicopter → add → July
The report added that at least 417 US military personnel were wounded in Iranian attacks until June 30.
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personnel → add → June
How many aircraft did the US lose?
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US → lose → aircraft
The US losses covered everything from front-line fighters and attack aircraft to aerial-refuelling tankers, airborne command-and-control planes, rescue helicopters, and unmanned surveillance aircraft.
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losses → cover → tankers
At least four of these two-seat $30m fighter jets were destroyed.
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four → destroy → jets
Three of these twin-engine fighter-bombers used for air-to-ground strikes as well as air-to-air combat were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait on March 1.
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Three → use → March
A fourth was shot down during combat over Iran in April.
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fourth → shoot → April
All aircrews were recovered.
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aircrews → recover → ?
At least one of the US’s prized stealth multirole fighters, designed to penetrate heavily defended airspace, was damaged in Iranian fire in March.
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one → prize → March
At least one of the heavily armoured ground-attack aircraft, designed primarily to provide close air support to troops on the ground, was shot down by Iranian fire.
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one → design → fire
At least seven of these large aerial-refuelling tankers, which extend the range and endurance of US combat aircraft, were damaged or destroyed.
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which → refuel → aircraft
One crashed in Iraq on March 12 during a refuelling mission, killing all six crew members; five others were damaged on the ground by Iranian missiles and drones in Saudi Arabia.
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others → crash → Arabia
A seventh aircraft was also involved in the Iraq incident and is included in the broader loss count.
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aircraft → involve → count
At least one of these airborne early-warning and control aircraft was damaged on the ground at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan airbase in a subsequent Iranian strike.
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one → damage → strike
At least one of these four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopters was damaged by Iranian fire during a combat search and rescue mission.
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one → damage → mission
At least one of these $240m high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned surveillance aircraft, designed primarily for maritime intelligence and surveillance, crashed in April.
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one → design → April
The US forces destroyed four of these small, highly manoeuvrable helicopters after they were deemed unrecoverable during a combat search and rescue operation in Iran.
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they → destroy → Iran
At least one of these twin-engine, four-bladed attack helicopters, built with a tandem cockpit for a crew of two, was shot down near the Strait of Hormuz on June 8.
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one → build → June
At least one of these US Navy multi-role helicopters crashed in the Arabian Sea on July 1.
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one → crash → July
Three of the four crew were wounded and rescued, while the fourth was listed as missing.
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fourth → wound → crew
As many as 30 of these long-endurance armed unmanned aircraft used for surveillance, intelligence gathering, and precision strikes were destroyed.
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30 → use → surveillance
The Iranian military has claimed to have inflicted further damage on US assets, shooting down surveillance and attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz several times.
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military → claim → Hormuz
Tehran also captured a US submersible Dive-LD earlier this month.
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Tehran → capture → LD
What losses did US military bases suffer in the region?
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bases → suffer → region
The report further underlined the assertion by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) that Iranian attacks damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US military installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan during the conflict.
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attacks → underline → conflict
It did not provide any additional detail or specifics on these damages.
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It → provide → damages
From previous reporting, we know that several US facilities were temporarily shut down or moved due to Iranian attacks.
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facilities → know → attacks
The report noted that the “establishment of adequate naval bases and support ports posed significant challenges before and during” the US military campaign against Iran, “arising from complexities and due to uncertainties with host nation access permissions to utilize ports for fleet resupply”.
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establishment → note → resupply
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
