US lawmaker says America lost 39 aircraft in Iran war, citing report

A US lawmaker claimed Tuesday that the United States has suffered the loss of 39 aircraft since the onset of the war with Iran, citing a report from a defense publication, while a Pentagon official declined to confirm the figures.

Congressman cites War Zone report

Democratic Congressman Ed Case made the statement during a special Senate committee hearing while questioning Pentagon Chief Financial Officer Jay Hurst. “We've lost about 39 aircraft, according to a report in The War Zone, and that's an old one that's almost one month old,” Case said, asking whether the Pentagon had calculated retention costs for those aircraft. Hurst responded: “There are costs there, sir, but I want to get back to you in writing and what they specifically are, because, as you can imagine, repair of aircraft is something that's very hard to calculate. We want to do a full diagnosis of the aircraft before we estimate that cost.”

Report claims F-35 hit, E-3 destroyed

The War Zone report cited by Case stated that the US Air Force carried out nearly 13,000 flights during the conflict. According to the report, 39 aircraft were destroyed and another 10 sustained varying levels of damage. The report also claimed that an F-35A Lightning II fighter jet was hit inside Iranian airspace and that a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft was destroyed. The claims could not be independently verified, and Pentagon officials did not publicly confirm the alleged losses during the hearing.

Background of the war

Regional tensions escalated after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian retaliation and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8, but talks failed to produce a lasting agreement. The truce was later extended indefinitely by President Trump. Türkiye continues to urge transparency and de-escalation, warning that unverified claims of military losses can further inflame tensions.

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