WASHINGTON – A U.S. Air Force F-15 was shot down over Iran on Friday, marking the first confirmed instance of an American combat aircraft being downed by enemy fire since the U.S.-Israel war against Iran began Feb. 28, according to U.S. officials.
A search and rescue operation is underway to locate the two-member crew.
The jet reportedly went down in the rural and mountainous Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in central and southwestern Iran. U.S. forces, including HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters, have launched an intensive search effort.
The fate of the pilots is currently unknown.
Iranian state media has offered a bounty for the capture of “enemy pilots” and urged civilians to hand them over to the police. Some reports suggest one pilot may have ejected and been captured by Iranian forces, but the status of the crew remains unconfirmed.
Iranian state-linked outlets, including Tasnim News Agency, initially claimed to have shot down a fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter. However, photos and videos of the wreckage released by Iranian media — including an ejection seat and tail section — are consistent with a U.S. Air Force F-15E from the 494th Fighter Squadron based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, according to military aviation experts.
The incident occurred on the same day President Donald Trump celebrated the destruction of Iran’s B1 bridge near Tehran and threatened strikes on Iranian power plants unless a peace deal is reached. Iranian forces retaliated by targeting energy and water infrastructure across the Persian Gulf, including a desalination plant in Kuwait and oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military actions in the region, has not yet issued an official statement on the search for the crew.