RT: ّifth of U.S. reaper drone fleet destroyed in war against Iran

Pars Today – The U.S. military has lost 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones in the war against Iran, amounting to nearly one-fifth of its total fleet of this type of aircraft.

According to Pars Today, citing IRNA and Russia’s RT network, the report states that the value of the 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones is estimated at around $1 billion. According to General David Tibor, Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning at the U.S. Department of War (Pentagon), the U.S. Reaper fleet—no longer in production—has now been reduced to around 135 aircraft.

In another report, the Financial Times examined the enormous costs of the war against Iran, stating that it has so far inflicted more than $270 billion in damage on the U.S. economy.

The Pentagon initially estimated direct military costs at $29 billion, largely spent on missiles and interceptor systems, a figure expected to rise rapidly. Since the start of the war, U.S. consumers have paid more than $40 billion in additional costs due to rising fuel prices.

Due to war-driven inflation and the Federal Reserve’s inability to lower interest rates, the U.S. economy has suffered an estimated $200 billion loss in output, leading to higher credit card debt and more expensive mortgages.