Skip to content

Crew member rescued after US fighter jet downed over Iran, US media report

Cachella Smith
Video appears to show a US plane and helicopters over southern Iran

A US pilot has been rescued after their F-15 fighter jet was shot down over western Iran, US and Israeli media report, citing unnamed officials.

The search and rescue mission - consisting of a Warthog jet and two helicopters - came under fire, causing the Warthog's pilot to eject over the Persian Gulf, CBS News, the BBC's US partner, reports, citing two US officials.

The helicopter that rescued the F-15 pilot was also attacked, wounding crew members, CBS reports. The search for a second F-15 crew member continues.

The apparent incident comes despite US President Donald Trump saying on Wednesday that Iran's drone and missile capabilities had been "decimated".

Reports a US F-15E jet had been downed were first published by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

If confirmed, it would mark the first time a US jet has been taken out by Iran since the start of the war.

CBS reports that the rescue helicopter that came under attack was able to land safely and all service personnel are receiving medical treatment.

Social media footage verified by the BBC shows a plane and two helicopters flying low over Khuzestan province, consistent with a search and rescue mission.

The governor of Iran's southern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province - which sits beside Khuzestan province - has said that "capturing" any downed US crew "alive" was a priority, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Iranian outlets have said that a reward of 10 billion tomans (around £50,000) has been set to find the "intruder".

Asked by the BBC about reports that a US fighter jet had been shot down, the White House provided a statement that said only that "the president has been briefed".

Israel has held off planned strikes in the search area, CNN and Israel's Channel 12 report, citing Israeli officials. The Israel Defense Forces has not confirmed these reports.

The US had denied a report on Thursday morning by the IRGC that a fighter jet pilot had been shot down over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

A satellite map marking the boundaries of the Khuzestan province and the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province along the border with Iraq. In the right hand corner is a smaller map of Iran which locates where the provinces are in relation to the country and also labels Tehran.

The apparent downing of the jet comes after both Trump and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have each repeatedly suggested that the US had already effectively won the war with Iran.

Trump said in a televised address on Wednesday that the US military had nearly completed its objectives, vowing to strike Iran "extremely hard" over the coming two or three weeks.

Iranian attacks across the region have continued despite US forces saying they had struck more than 12,300 targets, including naval vessels and facilities, missile launchers and defence manufacturing plants.

Trump has also touted talks with the Iranian regime, though Tehran has denied any contact with his administration. The Wall Street Journal reports that efforts to reach a ceasefire have hit a dead end, with Iranian officials unwilling to meet US counterparts.

The F-15 would not be the first US aircraft to be taken out of service during the course of the conflict, which began five weeks ago with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes across the region.

Three US fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences in early March, in what Centcom described as "an apparent friendly fire incident". All six crew ejected safely and were recovered.

In March, six crew members of a US military refuelling aircraft died after it crashed in western Iraq. Centcom said neither hostile nor friendly fire were involved in the loss of the KC-135 aircraft.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says that 1,606 civilians, including at least 244 children, have been killed in Iran since the start of the conflict.

Infographic about the US F‑15E Strike Eagle fighter jet with a photo of the aircraft in flight and text explaining its features: designed for long‑range missions to attack ground targets and fight its way out; has a two‑person crew of a pilot and a weapon systems officer; uses terrain‑following radar to fly safely at very low altitudes. Notes that F‑15s have been in service since 1974, with the F‑15E introduced in 1988. States an approximate cost of $100m (£75m). Source: the US Air Force.

The F-15E Strike Eagle can fly at low altitudes and typically contains a pilot and a weapons systems officer.

One of them costs around $100m (£75m) and is equipped with a radar system that enables the detection of ground targets from long ranges.

It is designed to perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.