At least 81 United States military aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, have been lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, the code name for Washington’s military campaign against Iran launched earlier this year. The statistic comes as part of a report released on Monday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan government agency that provides budget-related research to the legislature.

The report highlights the growing price tag for the war, which began on February 28. A lasting ceasefire has remained out of reach as the conflict continues into its eighth month, with the United States facing criticism over the war's escalating costs.

The CBO report estimated that, as of August 1, the cost of the American aircraft losses during the US-Israeli war against Iran was between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion. Experts suggest that the nature of modern warfare, increasingly reliant on low-cost, widely available drones, has contributed to these vulnerabilities.

This evolving landscape of conflict implies that even smaller adversaries can inflict significant damage on technologically advanced militaries. The implications for future military strategy and budget allocations are substantial, as the US grapples with the financial and operational impact of these losses.

Harlan Ullman, a former naval officer and chairman of the Killowen Group, a government advisory firm, noted that Iran has achieved a degree of success in damaging US military hardware. He explained that Iran has "plenty of US targets available, and you can imagine what a small drone can do to a major military asset," citing examples from conflicts in Gulf countries.

Among the affected aircraft listed in the report were 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, one F-35A Lightning II jet, and seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft. Notably, 45 of the 81 aircraft identified were MQ-9 Reaper drones, underscoring the significant role of unmanned aerial vehicles in the conflict's damage assessment.

Experts like Ullman trace some of the US vulnerabilities to the changing nature of modern warfare, which is increasingly reliant on low-cost drones that are widely available. The conflict in Ukraine has also been cited as an example of how a smaller military can effectively utilize drone warfare against a larger adversary.

The threat of drone attacks has shown its effectiveness in putting larger militaries on the defensive, as evidenced by the sudden departure of a dozen US aircraft from RAF Fairford in the UK on Sunday due to rumors of a potential drone attack. This highlights the ongoing challenges and strategic adjustments required by major military powers in contemporary conflicts.