The United States lost aerial equipment worth up to $2.8bn, according to a US-based think tank.By Alia ChughtaiPublished On 30 Apr 2026https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/30/us-military-equipment-worth-billions-of-dollars-destroyed-in-iran-warSpeaking at a televised Cabinet meeting on March 26, the US secretary of defense boasted of US military successes against Iran in the ongoing war. “Never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and so effectively neutralised,” he said, seated next to US President Donald Trump.The very next day, Iran fired missiles and drones that struck a US base in Saudi Arabia, wounding several US soldiers and destroying a radar surveillance plane that cost $700m.Rubio says NATO must be re-examined after Spain blocks US operation on Iranend of listIt was no one-off hit. Iran’s missiles and drones, and one devastating instance of so-called friendly fire, have destroyed US military equipment worth between $2.3bn and $2.8bn, the Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies has calculated.The CSIS estimate is the first detailed tabulation by a major international research group of US military losses in the war that began on February 28, and Al Jazeera is the first to report it.
This estimated costing does not include losses incurred at US bases in the region, or any of the specialised equipment or naval assets.Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Defense and Security Department at CSIS, carried out the calculations. He said that he was also looking at damages to bases used by the US in the Gulf. But that exercise has been more challenging. Planet Labs, a global service provider for satellite imagery, has blocked all satellite images for public and media usage at the request of the US government since February 28. Iranian satellite imagery, however, has been available.“We can see from the overhead photographs, you know, what, what buildings were struck,” said Cancian, of the bases used by the US. “It’s hard to know what was in the building.”
Some of the losses were the result of “friendly fire”. Three F-15 jets were shot down in one such incident in Kuwait in early March.But most of the US aircraft and radar destroyed in the war were targeted by Iran. Two instances, in particular, stand out. On March 1, the US lost at least one powerful missile defence radar that uses the THAAD system to detect missiles and some hypersonic threats, and feeds targeting data to other defence systems. Some reports suggest two radars were destroyed. The total bill: Between $485m and $970m. The location has not been specified. The US armed forces are hosted by several Gulf nations where THAAD systems were implemented.And on March 27, the attack on Prince Sultan airbase in eastern Saudi Arabia, fewer than 24 hours after Hegseth’s boast, destroyed the $700m E-3 AWACS/E7 radar detection aircraft. Essentially an airborne command centre, it can detect aircraft and missiles hundreds of kilometres away, and coordinate battles in the sky.
Omar Ashour, professor of security and military studies and founder of the Security Studies Programmes at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said that while the US has disclosed some figures, it cannot afford full transparency for political reasons.“At this point, I don’t think the Trump administration would want to be looking like losing equipment [and] personnel,” Ashour told Al Jazeera, adding that there might be a “price” to pay “at the [midterm] elections in November“.The US, he said, had a history of achieving operational victories in conflicts around the world — only to then fail strategically.“In Vietnam, they did a series of operational victories. In Afghanistan, they did. But then [they suffered] the strategic loss in the end. Because the operational victories did not serve the strategic ends,” he said.“In this case, the strategic ends are very political,” Ashour added, referring to the proclaimed goals of regime change and denuclearising Iran.He emphasised that at the moment, the US troops deployed to the region do not constitute even a 10th of the force used to invade Iraq in 2003. It also does not have the number of aircraft carriers used against Iraq.
Cancian said that he was surprised at Iran’s decision to strike Gulf nations — and not just the US bases they host.“I think that was a strategic error on their part. They thought that that would split the Gulf states away from the United States, but it drove them closer to the United States,” he argued.For the US, he said, the failure to keep the Strait of Hormuz open was a humbling reminder of what can happen when a navy is unprepared. Iran enforced restrictions on the passage of most vessels through the strait early in the war, and on April 13, the US launched its own naval blockade of Iranian ports and ships trying to transit through the waterway.*there is a table of vessels attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, use the link in the OP and scroll halfway down the page you’ll find it easily
“It’s surprising because we’ve been thinking about this with the United States military for 45 years,” he said, before referring to his own time in the military. Cancian is a retired colonel from the US Marines, and his military career spanned over three decades. He served in multiple roles in Vietnam, the 1991 Gulf War – Desert Storm, and the Iraq war.Cancian recalled participating in amphibious planning exercises to capture Qeshm Island, where Iran is believed to hold several of its missiles in an underground facility. “So it’s not that this just popped up unexpectedly.”But when the US launched the current war, he said, “They didn’t have the forces in place.”“They do now, but they did not initially. And then, you know, apparently for whatever reason, they don’t have the capability or are not willing to take the risk to open it,” he added.Ashour said that Iran, too, has suffered severe damage to its military. He says the US-Israeli operation in this case has degraded the country’s conventional military architecture, but was unable to wipe out its missiles, munitions and drones.“That claim that the [Iranian] navy got obliterated,” he said, was “far from the truth”.“You can still fight in the sea without a conventional or without the blue water navy,” he said. “They were degraded. But it’s far from defeated, and they’re far from down.”
Dem biluns ken buys lot a beans N rice N chickuns legs ta feeds muh chiluns
>>1510810You sound like a little dweeb with no chin
>>1510938It was satire
>>1510801>2.8 billion>So less than many single cities, in a singular state, spend in a month of operationWow, its fucking nothing. You can always tell when its a thirdie or a communist when they start trying to bring the war in under budget, as if they literally can't comprehend a nation having trillions of dollars and endless credit and collateral instead of a shoestring that's only big enough for some zodiacs and toyota technicals.
>>1510974>So less than many single cities, in a singular state, spend in a month of operationWhat do you mean?
>>1510977NTA. Chicago spends 2.5b each year on highway maintenance, but saying per month is an exaggeration.
>>1510981I mean at least highway maintenance, you know, gives money back in the form of being able to use the fucking highways. Destroyed military equipment gives us nothing; it's just a loss.
>>1510981You can double the cost for lost military equipment because it needs to be replaced like for like
>>1510977>>1510981Meaning single cities spend more than the sum total of that entire war in a month of operation, just like it says. Between paying out benefits, paying for their state government, subsidies, fuel, labor, transportation costs, roads, post office, lobbying and all the other things that a city has to pay for in a month. Hell, it doesn't even have to be Chicago, 2.8 Billion is a small enough amount of dollaridoos compared to the fiscal momentum in most American cities that you can even pick a backwater in Indiana.>>1510985>At least highway maintenance gives something backWe all benefit from America having total dominance in the world's energy markets, directly or indirectly. Nobody wants to live in a world modeled after or ruled by China, India, Russia or any of the other potential polar powers. They're barely even human beings, it will only serve to snuff out whatever is left of goodness and civilization in the world. So what benefits America benefits all of us, and that includes crushing the browns in Iran to thus deplete the surplus population.>Its just a lossEverything that is lost is an opportunity for gain because it has to be rebuilt. Its not like the US Military is going to downsize any time soon, they still have another 7 billion browns and Chinks to kill.
>>1510990>Meaning single cities spend more than the sum total of that entire war in a month of operation, just like it says. Between paying out benefits, paying for their state government, subsidies, fuel, labor, transportation costs, roads, post office, lobbying and all the other things that a city has to pay for in a month. Hell, it doesn't even have to be Chicago, 2.8 Billion is a small enough amount of dollaridoos compared to the fiscal momentum in most American cities that you can even pick a backwater in Indiana.A city PRODUCES MONEY you fucking retard.
>>1510990surprised you could type all that out with Israels cock down your throat
>>1510991So does the military, by keeping the global brown population from getting uppity and challenging US dominance of the world's oil markets. Its true that its really the oil company producing the profits and that they are not an arm of the military itself, however, since most deposits that are bought and sold from are not within the domestic boundaries of the United States, it is the military responsible for helping US interests to maintain control of all non-domestic deposits. Since the military itself is also reliant on oil to function, and the oil industry to generate profits for the US energy economy, this relationship makes perfect sense.Not everything has to be directly profitable as a product to be useful to the market in which profit is made. Laying down road isn't profitable either, its an expense, but having more, better, and more accessible roads directly influences the transportation of goods and thus the profit made from goods. In places that are not road-accessible, like parts of Alaska, the cost of goods skyrockets because it can only be brought in by ship or plane when the US' transportation infrastructure mostly revolves around truck and rail domestically.So yes, a city produces money, and in an indirect way, so does the military, by keeping the rest of the faggoty subhumans on the planet from getting in the way, just like the road protects your tires from getting a puncture on the rocky ground.
>>1510985>Destroyed military equipment gives us nothing; it's just a loss.Actually we no longer have to maintain it, so this is a positive depending on what got blown up. While there are shortages in a lot of our military (basically our entire air force and navy), we do have an excess of some shit.
>>1510995Right now the only thing accomplished by the military in this conflict is driving up the price of oil (and by extension, everything else) because we're literally blockading a major trade route that we need open that was open when the war started.
>>1510997>Implying the browns should be allowed to trade as equals in our market when they're actually glorified farm equipmentThe blockade should stay until they submit to all of America's demands or until they all die of starvation, whichever comes first.
>>1510999You are mentally ill.
>>1510999>The blockade should stay until they submit to all of America's demands or until they all die of starvation, whichever comes first.Yeah that blockade isn't blocking food. All it's really doing is blocking oil.
>>1510801At least we didn't give it away like Biden did leaving Afghanistan.
>>1511001The retard larping as far-right is talking about the fertilizer shortages.Natural gas is refined into fertilizer. It provides NPK nutrients to plants. That's what sustains India's population.
>>1511003So basically we're threatening Iran with India dying of starvation. Which yeah, great plan.>Look, you can either give me what I want, or this other guy you aren't really friends with and who I literally know better than you do is going to die
>>1510801China is practicing the ultimate art of war: let your opponent kill themselves
>>1511016Wasn’t it Napoleon who said “Never interrupt your enemy when they’re making a mistake,” not Sun Tzu?
>>1511006Pretty much yeah. Mass starvation is inevitable across Africa and India because they haven't gotten their fertilizer this year. I hope I'm wrong.
>>1511019Hey you know who else isn't getting fertilizer because of this blockade? THE FUCKING US.
>>1511019And MAGA will cheer for it, if they’ll care at all. Absolute fucking monsters.>>1511020Also that. Trump don’t care, though.
>>1511020>THE FUCKING US.Pump the brakes. The US gets most of its natural gas from domestic drilling. We (I assume you are an american) are going to be fine. Europe (sans China and Russia) are fucked though because Trump is seizing boats going through the strait. Trump also raised the draft age to 42 so get ready.
>>1511023We’re talking about fertilizer. And that’s not how that works anyway.
>>1511024Yes anon, fertilizer is refined from natural gas. The lack of natural gas is what's going to starve India and Africa.
>>1511027I learned today.
>>1511023>Trump also raised the draft age to 42 so get ready.That's wrong anon. He didn't raise the draft age, the army increased it's age to 42 to line up with the Air Force and the Army - and even then people can still join past those ages with waivers on a case-by-case basis. See David Goggins rejoining the Air Force at 51 to be a PJ.
>>1511023>Pump the brakes. The US gets most of its natural gas from domestic drilling. We (I assume you are an american) are going to be fine.>Just replace 20% of the world's oil supplyIf we could do this, we wouldn't need to trade retard.
>>1511030>the army increased it's age to 42 to line up with the Air Force and the Army*with the Air Force and the Navyderp
>>1511032..anon. Anon please.
>>1510801Neat. Now do the Iranians. >>1510986>You can double the cost for lost military equipment because it needs to be replaced like for likeThink about what you just said. You idiot.
>>1510801It kind of says something that the only thing people can say about US losses is monetary value rather than lives, because they're genuinely that insanely good at casualty reduction.
These are obviously low balling numbers, since they'll never admit how much they actually fucked up here.I'd say the numbers are more in the 50 billion range.
>>1511097Yes of course the 2.8bn number is a subset that doesn't include a lot of stuff like damage to bases, naval assets and expended munitions.https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5857505-senator-angus-king-iran-war-bill/
>>1510990You’re saying that an entire city’s monthly worth of services and welfare has been wasted only on lost equipment in less than two months of conflict. This isn’t the total expenditure of the war, bear that in mind. You should be asking what’s more important, welfare and services or pointless war
>>1510999It’s not even blockading all their oil only the stuff on boats. It’s not a total siege, Iran isn’t an island they have borders with friendly nations they trade with, they have road and rail and the Caspian Sea which has canals that can reach the Black Sea and they can build pipelines to Turkey and China if necessary. To stop all that will require more missiles than the US has or can produce, or an invasion and conquest. This is the reality
>>1511019Do they think India will blame Iran for the unnecessary war the Americans started
>>1511036Yes retard, they have to buy it twice if they break the first one.
>>1510801I'm genuinely baffled by how you can be so under prepared for Iranian drones after seeing them in action daily for years
>>1511111Arrogance that you think you just blow up the leadership and you could then take over to the point you reject Ukrainian's aid when they have mastered fighting Iranian drones.
>>1510996>we do have an excess of some shit.It would have been better to sell the excess than to let it blow up. This is some retarded private federal reserve ponzi scheme publicly traded company Orwellian speak, "Yeah! Letting it get blown up saves us money!"
>>1511139You should know we were selling excessive weapons and vehicles to the Ukrainians before trump betrayed them to the russians.
>>1511139>>1511140That which is blown up in action isn’t classified as excessive. It was in use, if it was excessive it would not have been in use
Democrats didn't care when the Biden administration just left tens of billions of equipment in Afghanistan
>>1511111>>1511138>muh dronesWe lost more soldiers invading Grenada
>>1511290>b-but our KD!
>>1511285Every right winger will always try to pivot with the whataboutism card when confronted with them being responsible for ruining everything.
>>1511165Forgetting the part where it goes to a good cause Clearly you did.
>>1511333We are talking about whether replacement equipment will be needed in future, the answer is yes probably. It can’t be both necessary and unnecessary
>>1511290Genuinely can't tell if you're baiting or being stupid, sorry.On the off chance it's not bait: the issue isn't just the Iran managed to destroy some valuable equipment thanks to the military not applying lessons that should have been learned from Ukraine, but also that due to lack of alternatives was forced to waste expensive interceptors and drones that are cheap to produce en masse.
>>1510801>By Alia ChughtaLMAOstopped reading there
>>1511364What’s the problem?
