Fact Check: Did the US lose at least 16 military aircraft in Iran War?

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim has been circulating on social media platforms that amid the United States and Israel operations against Iran, the US has lost at least sixteen of its military aircraft. The claim surfaced as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, sparking speculations about its authenticity and concerns over the damage in the Iran War.

Claim: United States lost sixteen military aircraft

According to the viral social media rumor, at least sixteen aircraft of the US have been destroyed since the beginning of the US-Israel joint operation against Iran on February 28.

The rumor has sparked a debate about the truth behind the claim, with many accepting it to be true, while a few others remain sceptical and question its authenticity. 

Several nitizens even attribute the claim to credible news outlets such as Bloomberg and Al Jazeera.

Fact Check: The claim is indeed true

The claim is indeed true that at least 16 US military aircraft have been destroyed since the start of the war, including 10 Reaper strike drones hit by enemy fire, with a half-dozen other planes badly damaged in attacks or accidents.

The most serious losses were caused by accidents such as three US F-15s downed by friendly fire in Kuwait, and a KC-135 tanker destroyed during a refueling operation, after which all six crew members on the tanker were killed.

Five other KC-135s were reportedly damaged by an Iranian missile strike while parked at an airfield in Saudi Arabia.

American leaders claim extensive destruction of Iran's military

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently claimed that “Iran has no air defense. Iran has no air force. Iran has no Navy. Their missiles, their missile launchers, and drones being destroyed or shot out of the sky.”

Also, President Donald Trump had proudly announced that the US is “doing very well in Iran, you see the result. It's been amazing, we’ve knocked out 42 navy ships, some of them very large, in three days. That was the end of the navy.”

“We knocked out their air force, we knocked out their communications,” he claimed, before calling Iranian leaders 'bad people.'

The POTUS added, “When you look at October 7 and beyond October 7, when you look at all the killing they’ve done for 47 years, this had to be done. They were very close to a nuclear weapon. They are crazy, and they would have used it, as he declared, “So we did the world a favor.”