An F-15 belonging to the U.S. Air Force has reportedly been taken down by Iranian forces, with search-and-rescue operations for two crew members ongoing in the Middle East.
Multiple reports suggest that the U.S. fighter jet was taken out overnight on April 3. Iran has posted photos showing the jet’s alleged wreckage.
If accurate, it would be the first downed U.S. aircraft since the U.S. and Israel initially launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. Military.com reached out to the Pentagon and White House for comment. Neither the Department of Defense nor U.S. Central Command has publicly commented on the reports that have been attributed to Iranian media and internal sources.
CENTCOM, which on Thursday posted on X about a half-dozen false claims made by Iran regarding downing “enemy” aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, has not posted about this particular reported incident.
Iranian state media published media on Friday, which included videos and images of the craft, plus one of the ejection seats.
Iranian state TV channels also called on civilians in the area where the jet was downed to search for the two reported crew members, with whoever locates them being told they would receive some kind of reward from the government, according to Axios.
Drop Site News cited an Iranian official as a source, reporting that the U.S. F-15 was struck by Iranian forces in southern Tehran Province, "with intense fire reported at the crash site." The Iranian official said the nature of the strike prevented the pilot[s] from ejecting before the aircraft crashed. The report alleged that no remains have been found.
Jeffrey Fischer, a former U.S. Air Force colonel, told Military.com: “Praying for the crew.”
“I don't know how the aircraft went down, but I will say this: After watching the F-15E try to engage the Shahed the other day, I was concerned,” Fischer added. “That was some pretty low and pretty slow flying, which reduces any kind of reactive or defensive maneuvers in the event an aircraft is engaged by air defense.”
Another retired U.S. Air Force pilot speculated to Military.com that Reaper drones and more fighter jets are high and flying cover as part of the search.
“They seemed very low, so they must be confident that there are no air defenses active in the area beyond small arms,” he said.
He’s also heard that one crew member cannot be located but that U.S. forces are in touch with the other, though that’s unconfirmed by the source and Military.com.
“They are probably waiting for night (now) to do any extraction if they are in contact with one or both crew,” the source added.
This story will be updated with any new information.
