What we know about the American combat plane shot down in Iran, and the search for its occupants

Iranian media announced on Friday that an American fighter jet had been shot down over central Iran. The United States, which claims that President Donald Trump was “kept informed” of the situation, has not yet commented.

This marks the first in over a month of war in the Middle East. A fighter jet crashed on Iranian territory on Friday, April 3, as subtly confirmed by the White House spokeswoman, stating that Donald Trump had been “kept informed.” Several Iranian state media outlets have announced that it was shot down, and have posted photos of rubble presented as that 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 American media outlets report that one of the two was rescued by the American military. Franceinfo explains.

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 anti-aircraft defense system. The state television station in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad region of Iran (southwest) broadcast images of what it presented as the wreckage of the downed aircraft, with the police announcing a reward for anyone who turns in its occupants.

“If you capture the enemy pilot(s) alive and hand them over to the police and armed forces, you will receive a generous reward,” the journalist stated. The Fars news agency, on the other hand, reported an ongoing operation “to locate the pilot.”

When contacted by AFP and CNN, the US Military Command for the Middle East (Centcom) did not immediately comment on the incident. The American news agency Associated Press claims to have seen an email from the Pentagon stating that the American military was informed that an aircraft had been shot down in the Middle East. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was “kept informed” of the situation, according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

Questions about the type of aircraft involved

The state news agency Tasnim 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 cast doubt on this claim based on the photos released by Iranian media. The debris “undoubtedly corresponds to an F-15,” stated Peter Layton, a researcher at the Griffith Asia Institute and former officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, in an interview with CNN. “Due to 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 a similar analysis.

Unlike the F-35, the F-15 accommodates two crew members, a pilot and a weapons systems officer, seated in the rear. This aligns with what unidentified sources told American media, stating that two pilots are actively sought by the United States. At this stage, franceinfo has not been able to verify this final piece of information.

American media outlets claim a pilot was rescued

A rescue operation was launched by the American 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 networks and in Iranian media. Several American media outlets, including the New York Times and CNN, report, citing sources close to the matter or unidentified American and Israeli officials, that American forces rescued one of the two crew members of the aircraft, a fact that no official source has confirmed. The fate of the second crew member is currently unknown.

A second aircraft was hit

The Iranian military claims to have shot down a second American combat aircraft. “An American A-10 aircraft was hit by the air defense systems (…) and crashed into the waters of the Gulf,” announced the state television (Irib), relaying a statement from the military. According to CNN and the Washington Post, citing unidentified American officials, the pilot managed to leave Iranian airspace and reach that of Kuwait before ejecting. According to these same sources, the pilot was then rescued.