In the summer, when the budget figures for the U.S. Department of Defense are in the news, there is always coverage about military overspending. I just read the diary by Kos contributor annieli about ideas for cutting the behemoth U.S. defense budget.
I’d like to make a contribution by pointing out that millions upon millions are lost because of military “mishaps” and “accidents” every year. In many cases, these incidents are either training episodes or have no connection to actual combat at all. Four years ago, I wrote a similar diary highlighting military accidents and waste.
Here are some more recent “mishaps” and their loss figures. Since we are talking big money for the military, my only goal is only to highlight the astronomical amounts that can be involved in just a single accident. And these are only for the Air Force; who knows what losses the other branches are accountable for. (NOTE: Some of these accidents resulted in injuries or death, and in no way am I attempting to pin blame on any individual or put a dollar figure on that kind of loss.)
January 27, 2020: An E-11A aircraft crashed in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, following a catastrophic engine failure. The plane was lost, costing $120 million.
April 23, 2020: A C-130J-30 aircraft on a routine evaluation flight had a hard landing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The force of the landing exceeded the aircraft’s maximum limits and caused extensive damage to the plane’s center wing, both outer wings, left and right landing gear assemblies, and engines. The estimated damages were $20,917,089 (approximately $21 million).
May 19, 2020: An F-35A stealth fighter aircraft crashed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The aircraft, valued at $175,983,949 (that’s $176 million) was completely destroyed.
June 8, 2020: A C-130H aircraft was involved in a mishap during a routine mobility airlift mission from Kuwait into Iraq when it failed to come to a stop during landing, overran the runway, and impacted a concrete barrier. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair; the loss was valued at $35,900,000 ($36 million).
June 22, 2020: A fire occurred at a hazardous materials storage building at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The fire burned for approximately four and a half hours, ultimately destroying the building and its contents. Estimated government property loss: $2.6 million.
June 24, 2020: An MQ-9A unmanned aerial vehicle (a remotely piloted craft) crashed in an undisclosed location within the U.S. Africa Command. The location was confirmed, but the wreckage was not recovered. The loss of government property was valued at $11,290,000 (that’s $11 million).
June 25, 2020: An unmanned MQ-9A crashed shortly after takeoff near Syracuse Hancock International Airport. It was significantly damaged on impact, resulting in a loss of government property valued at $6,085,179 (that’s $6 million).
June 30, 2020: At Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, during a night mission qualification training flight, the landing gear of an F-16 aircraft was damaged in an initial landing attempt. In a subsequent landing attempt, the aircraft went off the runway and was destroyed. Property loss: $29 million.
October 20, 2020: A U.S. Navy Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter crashed near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California. Cost: $65 million.
December 8, 2020: An F-16C aircraft crashed into a wooded area in the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan while on a practice mission. The aircraft was destroyed. Cost: $20-$35 million.
February 18, 2021: A T-38A had an accident during landing while on a day training mission. The aircraft impacted the runway without its landing gear fully extended. The total damage was $3,001,563 ($3 million).
The total cost of just these incidents is approximately $500 million, or half a billion dollars. Not from waste, fraud or abuse—just from accidents. And this is not all the accidents experienced by the Air Force in 2020-2021, nor does it include any losses incurred by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines or U.S. Coast Guard.