U.S. forces have begun a risky search-and-rescue mission for a missing F-15 crew member in Iran, after two military aircraft were shot down in separate incidents.
The F-15E fighter jet and A-10 attack plane were both hit by incoming fire, U.S. officials said Friday. One of the crew members aboard the F-15 was rescued after the plane crashed inside Iran, though their condition was not immediately clear. The other remains missing.
In a separate incident, the pilot of the A-10 navigated the damaged plane to Kuwaiti airspace before ejecting and was subsequently rescued, the officials said. The developments were confirmed by three U.S. officials speaking to The Washington Poston the condition of anonymity to discuss an evolving situation.
Two U.S. search and rescue helicopters were hit by Iranian fire, injuring U.S. personnel on board.
The loss of the F-15 fighter jet marked the first known instance of an American crewed aircraft inside hostile territory since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran began.
The search-and-rescue effort for the crew member is the most perilous yet for U.S. troops during the war. Combat search-and-rescue operations are inherently risky because the helicopters and planes used for them fly lower to the ground and must rely on other aircraft to protect them from enemy fire.
In Iran, state media has shown footage of people appearing to head into the mountains in Khuzestan carrying rifles to search for the missing crew member. Earlier, it said “many people” traveled to the area to “capture” the American and said Iranian armed forces called on people not to “mistreat the pilot.” Iranian television also broadcast a statement offering people in the area a “valuable” reward for the capture of an enemy pilot alive.
The incident has undercut the Trump administration’s assertions of dominance over Iranian skies and raised questions about how much of Iran’s arsenal remains intact after more than a month of heavy bombardment by U.S. and Israeli forces.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described it as a “black day” for American and Israeli air forces. Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf mocked the U.S. in a post on X: “After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from “regime change” to “Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?” Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses,” he wrote.
The Pentagon and The White House have not publicly commented on the incident.
President Donald Trump has also said very little about it, but rejected the idea it could impede negotiations to end the conflict in comments to NBC News.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), who lost her legs while serving as an Army helicopter pilot during the war in Iraq, said her heart went out to those involved in the operation.
“As someone shot down behind enemy lines, my heart goes out to the crew members and their loved ones who are waiting for answers,” she wrote on X. “It’s a relief one servicemember has been found and rescued, and I’m grateful for those risking their lives to look for the one who remains missing.”
Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed in the war to date, including seven who died as a result of hostile fire and six killed in a plane crash in Iraq. Nearly 370 others have been wounded, according to publicly released tallies.
Friday’s incidents mark the fourth loss of an F-15 since the Iran war began and the first known loss of an A-10 during the conflict.
Suzan Haidamous contributed to this report.
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