One of two US crew members has been rescued after a US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter was shot down over Iran on Friday, triggering a high-risk search-and-rescue operation for the remaining crew.
This marks the first confirmed loss of a US fighter jet inside Iran since the conflict began nearly five weeks ago.
US officials said one crew member was still missing after Iranian state media released images of debris and a tail fin, initially claiming that an F-35 had been downed. Aviation experts clarified that the wreckage belonged to an F-15E of the US Air Force’s 494th squadron, based at RAF Lakenheath.
US officials later confirmed off the record that an F-15E had been downed and the Pentagon was scrambling to locate the crew before the Iranians. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had been briefed but offered no further details.
Trump had earlier delivered a national address in which he claimed the US had “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and that the conflict was “nearing completion.” He added, “We have all the cards. They have none.”
Footage filmed in Iran showed a US C-130 Hercules and HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter flying low in south-west Iran, refuelling mid-air during the rescue mission. Justin Bronk, aviation expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said, “The use of specialist helicopters suggests a combat search and rescue mission is under way to locate and extract the two aircrew from the F-15E.”
Iranian TV presenters urged residents in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province to hand over any “enemy pilot” to local authorities, offering a reward. Tasnim news agency later reported the pilot may have been taken into custody, contradicting earlier claims he had likely died. Bronk noted, “If genuine, it would suggest that at least one of the two aircrew did eject safely.”
Overnight, US Central Command denied Iranian claims that an F-35 had been downed over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, stating, “All US fighter aircraft are accounted for.” A second US combat plane, an A-10 Warthog, also crashed nearby, but the pilot was safely rescued, according to anonymous US officials.
Trump reiterated his threat to target Iran’s infrastructure, tweeting, “Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!” More than 100 international law experts warned that such threats “raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes.”
Despite the ongoing strikes, Iran has shown little willingness to de-escalate. Sirens sounded repeatedly in as missiles from Iran and Lebanon hit its territory, though casualties were minimal. Israel also carried out strikes on south Beirut after issuing an evacuation order for the largely empty area, while the US continued to pursue the rescue operation for the downed F-15E crew.
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