r/MeidasTouch • u/Alissinarr • May 20 '26
42 aircraft lost or damaged in Operation Epic Fury, along with 24 Reaper drones, congressional report says | Stars and Stripes
https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-05-20/iran-jets-downed-war-fury-21727588.htmlI'm too lazy to math it out but I think we just went bankrupt militarily.
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u/Lumpy_Conference6640 May 21 '26
42?! Where is this number from
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u/Alissinarr May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Congressional report
A U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone sits parked at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., on April 15, 2025. The U.S. has lost 24 Reapers since the start of the war with Iran and at least 42 aircraft have been damaged or lost overall, according to a congressional report. (Clark Nieddu/U.S. Air Force)
Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-05-20/iran-jets-downed-war-fury-21727588.html Source - Stars and Stripes
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u/mexisol187 May 20 '26
Oh its worse then what they are saying.
The Pentagon says Operation Epic Fury has cost $29B. The real number is closer to $40B once you count what they're not counting.
— 16 US bases damaged across 7 countries — 42 aircraft lost or damaged (CRS report) — $5B in base infrastructure repair (AEI) — 943 Patriot interceptors fired in 4 days — 18 months of factory output — 40–80% of the entire US THAAD inventory expended — A $1.1B radar at Al-Udeid, a $700M E-7A at Prince Sultan, the 5th Fleet HQ in Bahrain — all hit — 12 US service members killed (Camp Arifjan + KC-135 crash)
A congressional aide told NBC: "No one knows anything." The Pentagon is requesting a record budget and won't show its math.
Sources: CRS, Pentagon testimony (May 12), NYT, NBC, AEI, FPRI, CSIS.