US military aircraft losses mount as Iran war approaches fourth week

2026.03.20 06:50 An F/A-18F Super Hornet launches from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln from an undisclosed location on March 6. Photo: US Navy via Reuters At least 16 US military aircraft have been lost since the start of the war with Iran, including 10 Reaper strike drones hit by enemy fire and a half-dozen other planes badly damaged in attacks or accidents. The most serious losses were because of accidents: three US F-15s downed by friendly fire in Kuwait, and a KC-135 tanker destroyed during a refuelling operation. All six crew members on the tanker were killed in the accident. Five other KC-135s were reportedly damaged by an Iranian missile strike while parked at an airfield in Saudi Arabia. So far only the uncrewed Reapers have been brought down by Iranian defences, with at least nine being destroyed in the air, according to a person familiar with the matter. One was hit at an airfield in Jordan by a ballistic missile, people familiar with the matter said. A US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashing in Kuwait on the third day of the war. Photo: UGC via AFP The other two Reapers were lost to accidents. The drones were meant to be “attritable” - flown in higher-risk areas because they do not carry pilots and were much cheaper to replace than a crewed plane. However, the risk to America’s most elite piloted assets became clear on Thursday when one of the US military’s most advanced fighter jets, the F-35, was forced to make an emergency landing after a combat mission over Iran. The jet landed safely and the pilot was in “stable” condition, said Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the US Central Command that oversees the Middle East. CNN first reported on the incident and said the jet was believed to be hit by Iranian fire. Iran’s state TV, quoting a Revolutionary Guard statement, said its air defence system badly damaged an F-35. Hawkins would not comment on the report and said the incident was under investigation. The stubby-nosed aircraft with steal

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