A new Congressional report reveals America's losses in the Iran war

(CNN) - A report issued by the Congressional Research Service revealed that the US Army lost 81 aircraft - either destroyed or damaged - during the war with Iran.

This number includes aircraft, helicopters, and drones, as the MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, close air support, and combat search and rescue operations, accounted for more than half of the total losses.

The list also includes some of the Pentagon's most important military assets, including an F-35A fighter and an E-3 Sentry aircraft. It is a quad-engine jet aircraft that features a huge radar dome atop its fuselage and is used to track targets and manage airspace.

The report stated - based on figures issued by the Congressional Budget Office - that the total cost of the lost aircraft ranges between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, according to the Department of Defense’s plans to compensate for these losses.

Sources told CNN that the total cost of the war is much higher, amounting to at least $45 billion. This number does not include damage to infrastructure at US bases in the region, including bases that witnessed some aircraft losses.

Some of the aircraft included in this census may have returned to service, including eight F-15 Strike Eagle fighter aircraft that were slightly damaged as a result of an Iranian strike that targeted the Muwaffaq Salti air base in Jordan during the month of September.

The report is based on figures contained in statements issued by the Department of Defense (the Pentagon), the Department's Office of the Inspector General, and the US Central Command - which carries out operations against Iran - in addition to news reports reviewed by the Congressional Research Service.

The report raises several questions for discussion before Congress, including whether lawmakers receive sufficient information from the Pentagon regarding losses, allowing them to assess the repercussions and determine appropriate solutions.

The Department of Defense's reports on casualties in the Iran war have been vague so far. Even the report issued by the Pentagon Inspector General in September - covering military operations from February 28 to June 30 - relied on previous reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service to determine the numbers of some of the missing aircraft.

There are other issues that Congress must consider, including: whether the necessary funding should be provided for repair or replacement operations, and the extent to which sufficient industrial capacity is available to meet these needs, as well as the repercussions of this on US arms sales to foreign partners.

This issue also raises questions about the impact of the Iran war on the American military situation outside the Middle East.

Analysts noted that operations in the Middle East - including the Iran-related war and previous confrontations with the Houthi rebels in Yemen (an Iranian proxy group) - had inflicted particularly severe damage on the MQ-9 drones; These are the aircraft that General Kenneth Wilsbach, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, described to Congress earlier this year as the military's "most important and valuable element" in the war with Iran.

Forty-five aircraft of this type have been lost in the Middle East this year, which a report issued by the Atlantic Council in September described as an “alarming rate.”

Air Force data indicate that it has lost about 35% of its fleet of MQ-9 aircraft since 2004.