The U.S. military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during the war with Iran, wiping out roughly one-quarter of a fleet that numbered approximately 185 aircraft and inflicting losses valued at more than $1.3 billion, according to officials.
Each MQ-9 is estimated to cost between $30 million and $50 million, depending on the weapons, sensors and other equipment installed aboard the aircraft.
The drones have been deployed extensively for surveillance and precision-strike missions around the Strait of Hormuz. Their relatively slow speed and operations at lower altitudes, however, have reportedly left them vulnerable to attacks by Iran and its proxies in Yemen and Iraq.
Not all of the aircraft were lost to enemy fire. Some Reapers reportedly crashed after their operators lost communications with the unmanned aircraft.
Lt. Gen. David Tabor told the Senate in May that the number of MQ-9s remaining in the American fleet had fallen to approximately 135. The Air Force is now examining ways to rapidly rebuild its inventory following the substantial wartime losses.
The depletion of the Reaper fleet comes amid broader concerns over American weapons stockpiles following years of extensive military assistance to Ukraine and heavy expenditures of sophisticated munitions during the war with Iran.
An analysis by the American Enterprise Institute warned that replenishing some of the most critical weapons could take years because of limitations in U.S. defense manufacturing capacity.
One particularly significant constraint involves THAAD missile interceptors. Current production capacity is limited to approximately 96 interceptors annually, while the Pentagon is seeking nearly 2,600 over the next five years. At the present production rate, manufacturing that quantity would take an estimated 27 years.
Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that producing a single THAAD interceptor takes nearly three years. As a result, even orders placed immediately would not begin producing significant quantities of additional interceptors until late in President Trump’s current term.
President Trump has sought tens of billions of dollars to replenish U.S. weapons inventories and expand production capacity.
The Pentagon, however, has pushed back against claims that American weapons stockpiles are becoming dangerously depleted.
{Matzav.com}
