Wreckage and remains of a US F-15 fighter jet, shot down by Iranian defense forces in Isfahan, on April 5, 2026. Photo: PressTV.
A US lawmaker says the American military lost at least 39 aircraft during 40 days of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.
Democratic Congressman Ed Case made the statement during a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday while questioning Pentagon Chief Financial Officer Jay Hurst about the scale of US military losses in the war.
“We’ve lost about 39 aircraft, according to a report in The War Zone, and that’s an old one, almost one month old,” Case said.
He asked whether the Pentagon had calculated the long-term repair and replacement costs resulting from the losses.
Hurst declined to provide details, saying the Pentagon would need to conduct a “full diagnosis” before estimating the costs.
“There are costs there, sir, but I want to get back to you in writing,” Hurst added.
The War Zone report cited by Case said that the US Air Force carried out nearly 13,000 flights during the 40-day war with Iran.
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According to the report, 39 US aircraft were destroyed, and another 10 sustained varying levels of damage.
It also said that an F-35A Lightning II was struck inside Iranian airspace and that a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft was destroyed.
The United States and Israel launched their illegal war against Iran on February 28, triggering large-scale Iranian missile and drone retaliation against Israeli targets and American military assets across the region.
During the war, Iranian armed forces managed to intercept and shoot down dozens of hostile fighter jets, missiles, and drones.
A senior Iranian officer, who downed an intruding American F-35 fighter jet, said in an interview in April that the myth of warplanes designed to evade radar detection is over.
“We completely destroyed Lockheed Martin technology,” said the officer. “The myth of stealth fighters is over.”
According to officials, Iran also downed 170 US and Israeli drones during the aggression.
Iran’s modern air defense systems can easily strike hostile flying objects, cruise missiles, and small aircraft in most cases.
(PressTV)
