A United States defence watchdog report has confirmed some startling statistics regarding Operation Epic Fury, including some major financial and personnel losses- and even a shortfall in their weapons stockpile.
An official US report to Congress states that the financial losses incurred during the joint operation with Israel, were estimated to be $33.4 billion, of which $22.3 billion was for expended munitions alone. The operational costs and equipment losses have been reported at a near $7.4 billion and $3.7 billion respectively. The US Department of War reportedly asked for $21 billion, specifically for munitions, in a June 24 supplemental request to Congress.
US air assets also took a massive hit in Operation Epic Fury across multiple platforms. Four F-15E fighters were destroyed during the conflict- notably, three were lost to friendly fire, with only one attributed to enemy action, says the report. A single F-35A sustained damage from enemy fire while operating over Iran, and one A-10 was destroyed after being discarded due to damage sustained returning from a combat search and rescue (CSAR) mission.
The refueling fleet was hit particularly hard, said the report, as seven KC-135 tankers were damaged or destroyed, including one lost in a mid-air collision over Iraq and five others damaged or destroyed on the ground in Saudi Arabia. An E-3 airborne early-warning aircraft was also damaged on the ground in the same country.
Rotary-wing and unmanned assets sustained losses as well. One HH-60W helicopter was damaged during CSAR operations, while four AH-6 helicopters were destroyed by U.S. forces after being deemed unrecoverable during similar missions. A separate AH-64 helicopter was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz, and an MH-60 helicopter crashed over the Arabian Sea. On the unmanned side, one MQ-4C high-altitude surveillance aircraft crashed, and as many as 30 MQ-9 ISR drones were destroyed across various incidents throughout the operation.
Between February 28 and June 30, the Department of War reported 7 service members killed in action and another 7 killed in non-hostile incidents during Operation Epic Fury, with 417 wounded in action over the same period. Casualties continued beyond the formal reporting window, too- four additional service members were killed in action in July, after the quarter had officially closed.
The Pentagon’s $33.4 billion estimate does not include infrastructure or base repair costs — officials said they couldn’t produce a reliable estimate because the future U.S. basing posture in the region hadn’t been decided. It also doesn’t account for broader economic ripple effects, such as rising fuel prices tied to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In short: the true cost of the operation is likely higher than the figures reported to Congress.