US Fighter Jet Reportedly Shot Down Over Iran – Rescue Effort Underway
An American Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was reportedly shot down over iran, with authorities saying at least one crew member has been rescued and search-and-rescue efforts for the second pilot are ongoing. Multiple outlets, including CBS News and the Times of Israel, cite U.S. and Israeli officials confirming the rescue and ongoing recovery operations. Iranian media and Tasnim, as relayed by The Washington Post, claim the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps downed the aircraft and that one crew member ejected inside Iran, though other reports question which aircraft was involved. News organizations and analysts noted conflicting details about the aircraft type, with some sources initially suggesting an F-35 before later reporting evidence pointed to an F-15. Commentary from defense experts, such as Mark Cancian, highlighted the low, slow flight over Iran as a sign of the pilots taking meaningful risks. The report also mentions local promises of a bounty for capturing american service members and incendiary local statements, and it recalls a prior incident in which three American jets were downed by Kuwaiti air defenses by mistake. the coverage presents a developing,uncertain situation with competing narratives about what happened and the status of the recovered crew.
An Air Force F-15 jet was shot down over Iran on Friday, according to multiple reports, with at least one crew member reportedly rescued.
Citing a CBS News report, the Times of Israel said one member of the two-person crew had been rescued. The also report cited American and Israeli officials as its source.
Search efforts are ongoing for the second F-15 crew member. The Israeli official said Israel has held off attacks in the region where the search and rescue efforts are under way.
Although there was no official comment about the incident, Reuters reported that a rescue operation was under way, citing a U.S. official it did not name, according to the Times of Israel.
Iranian media has posted what appears to be debris from a USAF F-15E Strike Eagle, reportedly downed earlier today.
Seen here, the remains of a vertical stabilizer. pic.twitter.com/FGD8jrmM4p
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 3, 2026
Israel’s Army Radio also said an American jet was downed.
The Times of Israel reported that Iran’s Fars news agency said its soldiers are also reaching for the crew.
“Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today,” Fars said.
U.S. Air Force C-130 is flying very low over Iran as part of a recovery mission for downed F-15 pilots.
The low-altitude flight over Iranian airspace has fueled claims that the F-15 may have been shot down, with U.S. forces now focused on locating and recovering the pilots. pic.twitter.com/ytQcfJY1N9
— Defence Index (@Defence_Index) April 3, 2026
The report said local residents have been promised a bounty if they capture the U.S. service members, while a local Iranian TV station said anyone who sees Americans should “shoot them as soon as you see them.”
As noted by Axios, this would be the first time that American warplanes were downed by enemy fire.
According to a report from The War Zone, Iran initially claimed that it shot down an F-35 fighter, saying that the pilot was likely killed.
However, photos published by Iranian media show what is believed to be wreckage of an F-15.
The Washington Post reported that the semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps downed the plane.
The Tasnim report said one crew member “ejected and landed inside the country.”
The IRGC’s claim was that the F-35 it claims to have shot down was “destroyed in the skies of central Iran by the new advanced defense system of the IRGC Aerospace Force.”
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that verified video of aircraft flying low of Iran makes it clear a searc is under way.
“The fact that they are flying so low and slow indicates willingness to take a lot of risk,” Cancian said.
Last month, three American jets were shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses by mistake.
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