A U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle jet has been shot down, and both American and Iranian forces are scrambling to find the crew first, unconfirmed reports claim.
UPDATE 1800 BST — One crewman rescued, report claims
One crew member from that downed F-15 has been recovered by U.S. forces, broadcaster CBS News claimed it was told by “U.S. Officials”.
The search and rescue mission to recover the second crew member is ongoing. The BBC says White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told them “The President had been briefed”.
Other than that it’s still very unclear what happened and how: Leavitt’s reported remark is the first time a named U.S. official has acknowledged anything has happened at all.
While Iran claimed to have shot down the jet over the west of the country, we haven’t had any official confirmation from the U.S. that the jet was lost to enemy fire, rather than — for instance — friendly fire or other mishap, as has happened in other cases.
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While Iran asserts daily to have shot down U.S. fighters and sunk American warships, claims made by Iranian state media on Friday morning may contain some truth, unnamed “sources” within the U.S. government are reported to have said. Broadcaster CNN claims three officials said an F-15E had been shot down over Iran on Friday morning, while The Guardian cites “US officials familiar”.
It is stated that U.S. forces have launched a search and rescue mission, with Iranian social media video alleging to show American helicopters flying low. CNN states it has geo-located the footage to Khuzestan Province in central Iran.
Iran is also searching for the two crew who may have successfully ejected from the stricken aircraft, with state media telling nationals that any Iranian who can capture the pilot and weapons officer and hand them over to the government will receive a reward.
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has not yet commented on the alleged loss of one of their aircraft but is typically active in dismissing Iranian disinformation about claimed kills against America. Indeed, it yesterday fact-checked Iran claiming they had downed a U.S. F-35 jet over the Persian Gulf, noting Iran has “has made the same false claim at least half a dozen times.”
The F-35 is a modern stealth strike fighter quite distinct from the F-15E, which traces its roots back to the 1960s.
Iran claimed to have shot down an F-35 again on Friday morning, but did so with images of the alleged wreckage which were easily identifiable as F15-E parts. Part of a vertical stabiliser shows the markings of the United States Air Force 494th Fighter Squadron, which is based out of RAF Lakenheath in Britain.
Iran has also made mixed claims on the fate of the crew, first stating they had perished before switching to calling on their citizens to help find them.
If proven true, the loss of the F-15E would be the first U.S. jet shot down by Iran in the five-week course of Operation Epic Fury. Other aircraft have been lost, including a flight of three F-15Es to friendly fire in the first days of the conflict, a Straotanker refuelling jet believed lost in a mid-air collision, and an E-3 Sentry command and control plane hit on the ground in Saudi Arabia.
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