On Friday morning at around 11 a.m. Eastern time, U.S. officials confirmed that an American F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iranian airspace, and the U.S. military is conducting rescue operations. The aircraft had two crew members, and the latest update is that one crew member has been rescued.
This marks the first time Iran has successfully shot down a manned U.S. aircraft during this conflict.
The White House has confirmed that President Trump has been briefed on the incident. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told CNN that the President has been briefed on the shooting down of the American fighter jet over Iran earlier this morning.
Israeli senior security officials confirmed to Israeli version of “Dajiyuan” magazine that an American aircraft was shot down in Iranian airspace.
Officials revealed that the U.S. has dispatched search and rescue teams to the crash site, and one pilot has been successfully rescued so far, while the search for the other pilot is still ongoing.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, a U.S. crew member has been successfully rescued.
Subsequently, U.S. officials confirmed that one American crew member on the shot down F-15E fighter jet has been rescued.
Two U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that one crew member on the American F-15E fighter jet shot down over Iran has been rescued by the U.S. military.
CBS News reported that two sources confirmed the ongoing rescue operation.
The F-15E is a twin-seat fighter jet.
Originally designed as an air-to-air combat aircraft, the F-15E is a multirole fighter with air-to-ground attack capabilities. The back seat crew member serves as a weapon systems officer.
Several photos and videos circulating on social media, shared by Iranian state media, show at least one U.S. C-130 transport plane and two Black Hawk helicopters flying low over central and southwestern Iran, presumably for the search and rescue of the downed U.S. personnel.
CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean stated that the images widely spread by social media and Iranian state media show U.S. fighter jets and armed helicopters flying low on Friday, consistent with typical search and rescue operations.
He mentioned that the aircraft shown in the video footage (verified independently by CBS News) appeared to be flying at low altitudes over hostile airspace in broad daylight, a move the U.S. military would only make with valid reason, such as rescuing downed pilots.
The crash occurred in western Iran. Iranian media reports that the U.S. military is conducting searches at two crash sites for the two pilots.
Iranian television has announced a reward of 100 billion Tomans (approximately $64,102) for information leading to the missing pilots.
Iranian officials have urged the public to participate in the search and capture of the two missing U.S. military pilots, with instructions to capture them alive.
Israel Army Radio cited Israeli sources confirming the downing of the aircraft and stated that rescue operations are underway. The condition of the crew members is currently unknown.
Fars News Agency, which has close ties to Iranian security forces, released photos purported to be wreckage of the crashed fighter jet.