As Iran claims downing second F-35 fighter jet, here is a look at US military aircraft lost during Operation Epic Fury

Iranian authorities on Friday claimed that they shot down a US fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet using the Islamic Republic’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s new air-defence system on Friday. According to the spokesman of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, the crash generated a massive explosion, and the pilot is unlikely to have ejected.

Iran claimed to shoot down another F-35

This is the second time since the start of the war on February 28 that Iran has claimed to have shot down a . On March 19, Iran claimed to have struck a US F-35 fighter jet.

The IRGC released a video that purportedly showed a missile hitting the aircraft mid-air.

While Iran claims to have destroyed the F-35, the said the fifth-generation stealth jet was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing, without giving the specifics.

The F-35 Lightning II is widely considered the world’s most advanced multi-role fighter jet and costs more than $100 million for a single aircraft. The US has not officially responded to the Iranian claims on Friday, but based on photos circulating on social media, many aviation experts have concluded that it could be of an F-35 fighter jet.

E-3 Sentry

The Iranian claim of shooting down the second F-35 comes days after Tehran destroyed an E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control (AEWC) aircraft in a missile and drone strike at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

The US has not officially acknowledged the loss of an , but open source intelligence data on the last known location of the aircraft and the GPS coordinates of the Iranian strike’s location, along with photos of the aftermath, have led many experts to conclude that the E-3 Sentry, which is valued at $300M–$700M has been destroyed and not just damaged.

KC-135 Stratotanker

The Iranian strike on March 13 is also believed to have damaged or destroyed at least 5 KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft parked in the same airbase. One KC-135 Stratotanker is estimated to cost between $70 million and $80 million.

KC-135 Stratotanker lost in Iraq

Earlier, on March 12, a KC-135 Stratotanker had crashed in western Iraq, which once again was claimed by Iran, but the US, while acknowledging the loss, said it was not the result of hostile fire, but a midair collision involving a second KC-135, which managed to land safely.

Three F-15s shot down by Kuwait

Another case of confirmed US military asset loss was on March 1 in Kuwait, when three were shot down by friendly fire.

MQ-9 Reaper drones

In addition to these, the US military is said to have lost 11–16 MQ-9 Reaper drones, which were destroyed during operations.

According to a Washington Post report, in the first three weeks of the conflict, the US military assets worth $1.4 billion to $2.9 billion suffered damages or were lost completely.

As the war continues, the Pentagon is seeking an additional $200 billion in funding from Congress to support military operations as part of a supplemental funding plea to the White House.