An American F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday, marking the first time a U.S. aircraft has been downed over Iranian territory in the five weeks of the ongoing war.
According to U.S. and Israeli officials cited by The New York Times, an ongoing search and rescue operation successfully recovered one of the two crew members directly from Iranian soil. The fate of the second crew member remains unknown.
Videos verified by the Times showed American rescue aircraft, including helicopters and a C-130 plane, flying at low altitudes over southwestern Iran to locate the downed airmen.
The shootdown comes amid heightened regional tensions, with President Trump recently threatening to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” as the two nations trade strikes on infrastructure.
Another F-15E Lost
This is the second major loss of American F-15Es in the region in recent weeks, though the first directly attributed to Iranian air defenses. Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down over Kuwait in early March.
U.S. Central Command confirmed that the March losses were the result of an apparent friendly fire incident, in which Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly targeted the jets during active combat against Iranian ballistic missiles and drones. In that incident, all six American aircrew members safely ejected and were recovered in stable condition.
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