What is known about the American combat aircraft shot down in Iran, and the search to find its occupants

Iranian media announced on Friday that an American fighter jet had been shot down over central Iran. The United States, claiming that President Donald Trump had been “briefed” on the situation, has not yet made any comments.

This is a first in over a month of war in the Middle East. A fighter jet crashed on Iranian territory, Friday, April 3, as confirmed by the White House spokesperson, stating that Donald Trump had been “briefed” on the incident. Several Iranian state media outlets announced that it had been shot down, and posted photos of debris presented as parts of the aircraft. The Iranian regime has promised a “generous reward” to anyone who helps locate the two pilots, who appear to have successfully ejected from the aircraft – several US media outlets report that one of the two was rescued by the US military. Franceinfo provides an update.

A plane was shot down over Iran

Several Iranian media outlets announced on Friday morning that an American fighter jet had been shot down over central Iran by an air defense system. The Iranian state television channel in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad region (southwest) aired images of what it presented as the wreckage of the downed aircraft, with the police announcing a reward for anyone who delivers the occupants.

“If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police and armed forces, you will receive a generous reward,” said the journalist. The Fars news agency announced an ongoing operation “to locate the pilot.”

When contacted by AFP and CNN, the US Central Command for the Middle East did not immediately comment on the incident. The Associated Press news agency claims to have seen a Pentagon email in which the US military declared it had been informed that an airplane had been shot down in the Middle East. President Donald Trump was “briefed” on the situation, according to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

Questions about the type of aircraft involved

The state-run Tasnim agency presented the downed aircraft as an F-35 from the US Air Force. A single-seat military aircraft designed for ground attack and air superiority missions. However, experts have doubted this assertion based on photos circulated by Iranian media. The debris “undoubtedly belongs to an F-15”, said CNN’s Peter Layton, a researcher at the Griffith Asia Institute and a former officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. “From the distinctive markings on the tail, it belongs to the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK,” he explained. Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London quoted by the New York Times, made the same analysis.

Unlike the F-35, the F-15 accommodates two crew members, a pilot and a weapons systems officer, seated in the rear seat. This aligns with statements from unidentified sources to American media, stating that two pilots are actively being sought by the United States. At this point, franceinfo has not been able to verify this latest information.

US media outlets claim one pilot was rescued

A rescue operation was launched by the US military to recover the crew of the downed aircraft, according to the New York Times and the Washington Post, which claim to have authenticated photos and videos circulating on social media and in Iranian media of US helicopters and aircraft flying at low altitude over the crash site.

Several American media outlets, including the New York Times and CNN, citing sources close to the matter or unidentified American and Israeli officials, claim that US forces rescued one of the two crew members of the aircraft, which no official source has confirmed. The fate of the second crew member is currently unknown.