A U.S. F-15 fighter jet went down over central Iran on Friday, marking the first known loss of American aircraft since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28. One pilot has been rescued, a well-placed source told Fox News, while a search is ongoing for the second crew member.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident, according to two sources. The Trump administration has also notified congressional leaders.
The jet went down in the mountainous Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province of central Iran. It is not immediately clear why the aircraft went down. U.S. Central Command, the theater overseeing Middle East operations, is expected to release a statement.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for shooting down the jet. Iranian state media initially identified the aircraft as an F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, but photos of wreckage later released by Iranian outlets are consistent with an F-15E Strike Eagle. Aviation experts cited the plane’s twin vertical tails, wide fuselage, dual-engine configuration, and rectangular air inlets as distinguishing features. The aircraft appears to be from the 494th Fighter Squadron, based at RAF Lakenheath in England.
Local footage shows HC-130 tanker aircraft and HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters flying low over Iranian territory, suggesting a search-and-rescue operation is underway.
The downed jet comes days after Trump addressed the nation on the state of the conflict. “We are in this military operation for 32 days,” Trump said Wednesday. “And the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.”
“They have no anti-aircraft equipment,” Trump said. “Their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable.”
U.S. officials had for weeks maintained that American and Israeli forces held “complete control over Iranian skies.” The military had recently deployed non-stealthy B-52 bombers into Iranian airspace, a move officials said underscored confidence that Iranian air defenses had been largely eliminated.
