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The U.S. military has suffered a costly blow in the skies over and around the Iran war, with 81 aircraft destroyed or damaged, according to a new Congressional Research Service report.

The figure covers airplanes, helicopters and drones, revealing a toll that stretches from heavily used unmanned aircraft to some of the Pentagon's most sophisticated and expensive platforms.

More than half of the reported losses involve MQ-9 Reaper drones, which have played a central role in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, close air support and combat search and rescue.

But the losses do not stop there. Among the damaged or destroyed aircraft are an F-35A fighter jet and an E-3 Sentry, the four-engine airborne warning and control aircraft recognizable by the massive radar dome mounted above its fuselage. The E-3 is used to track targets and manage airspace, making any loss potentially significant beyond the price tag of the aircraft itself.

Aircraft Losses Carry Billions in Costs

The Congressional Research Service report estimates that replacing the aircraft could cost between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, depending on how the Defense Department ultimately handles repairs and replacements.

Those numbers come from figures compiled by the Congressional Budget Office and represent only the aircraft portion of a much larger military bill.

The overall cost of the war is already at least $45 billion, according to sources cited by CNN. That figure does not include damage to infrastructure at U.S. military bases across the region, including facilities where some of the aircraft losses occurred.

The aircraft tally also does not necessarily mean every listed aircraft is permanently out of action.

Some may have returned to service after repairs. That includes eight F-15 Strike Eagle fighters that suffered light damage during an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan in September.

CRS Questions Pentagon's Accounting

The new report draws its aircraft-loss figures from statements and information provided by the Defense Department, its inspector general, U.S. Central Command and news reports reviewed by the CRS.

But the report makes clear that the numbers are not simply an accounting exercise. They raise questions about whether Congress is receiving enough information from the Pentagon to understand the full impact of the losses and determine what remedies may be needed.

Pentagon disclosures about the war's aircraft losses have so far been limited and, in some cases, vague.

Even a September report from the Defense Department's inspector general covering operations from Feb. 28 through June 30 relied on earlier Congressional Research Service reports for some of its aircraft-loss figures.

For lawmakers, that creates a larger problem: Without a complete picture, assessing the damage becomes like trying to measure a storm through a fogged window.

Congress Faces Questions Over Replacements

The CRS report lays out several issues for Congress to consider, including whether lawmakers should authorize additional money for aircraft repairs and replacements.

Another concern is whether the U.S. defense industry has enough production capacity to replace the aircraft that have been destroyed while meeting other military demands.

The report also asks lawmakers to consider how the losses could affect U.S. military sales to foreign partners.

Those decisions could extend beyond the Middle East, potentially influencing production schedules, available aircraft and America's broader military posture.

The CRS specifically warned that losses involving high-demand platforms that are aging and available in limited numbers could create capability gaps elsewhere.

"Congress may assess whether losses in certain high-demand platforms that are aging and limited in number, such as the E-3 Sentry, create capability gaps or increase risk in other theaters," the report says.

MQ-9 Reaper Losses Draw Particular Concern

The MQ-9 Reaper has emerged as the most heavily affected aircraft in the report.

Military analysts have previously warned that operations in the Middle East, including the war with Iran and earlier clashes with Houthi rebels in Yemen, an Iranian proxy group, have placed an especially heavy burden on the unmanned aircraft.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach told Congress earlier this year that the MQ-9 was the military's "most valuable player" in the war with Iran.

Yet the aircraft has suffered staggering losses.

Forty-five MQ-9 Reapers have been lost in the Middle East this year alone, according to a September report from the Atlantic Council, which described the pace as "an alarming rate."

The scale of the losses is even more striking over the aircraft's longer history. The Air Force has lost about 35% of its MQ-9 fleet since the drone entered service in 2004, according to the Atlantic Council report.

The congressional report us aircraft damage figures now put those losses into a broader picture, showing how the Iran war is not only consuming aircraft but also forcing Congress and the Pentagon to confront difficult questions about replacement costs, industrial capacity and whether the United States has enough of its most critical platforms to sustain operations across multiple theaters.