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A United States pilot rescued by special forces after his F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet got shot down over Iran in April described seeing Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one, in a formation that resembled a “jellyfish,” CNN reported on June 23, citing four sources familiar with the matter.
The pilot’s account set off a firestorm of debate within the U.S. intelligence community that has yet to be resolved, according to the report.
“Multiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs,” one of the sources familiar with the pilot’s witness account told CNN. “Real alien sh*t.”
Another source told the news network that the pilot described witnessing a “minefield of drones” in the air over the Islamic Republic.
Earlier reports suggested that the F-15E was shot down with a man-portable air defense system, possibly of Chinese origins. However, two of the sources who spoke to CNN said that it was possible the drone formation had in some way enabled Iran to shoot down the fighter jet.
The F-15E was downed over the province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad in southwestern Iran. It was the first time in decades that a U.S. fighter jet was downed by enemy fire.
The two-man crew of the F-15E jet safely ejected from the aircraft over Iran. The pilot was rescued within seven hours, but it took two days to locate and rescue the weapons systems officer, who reportedly hid in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains.
Although successful, the rescue operation was costly. An A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet providing air cover to U.S. operatives on the ground was shot down with the pilot ejecting outside of Iranian airspace. Two UH-60 Black Hawk taking part were also damaged while flying over Iran. In addition, two MC-130J Commando II special-mission aircraft and four MH-6 Little Bird helicopters were destroyed on the ground in the Islamic Republic.
According to CNN, the incident marked the second time the same pilot was shot down during the Iran war: he had also been among the pilots whose three F-15Es were downed in a friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti air defenses early on in the conflict.
There have been reports of Iran receiving assistance in developing its drone technology from China and Russia. The Islamic Republic also made several announcements related to swarm technology in recent years.
The technical term for the capability described by the pilot is “one-to-many meshed networking,” according to CNN’s sources. Meshed networking allows an operator to command several drones at a time.
The last war has solidified Iran’s status as one of the major military drone powers in the world. The Islamic Republic’s one-way attack drones in particular were proven to be even more effective than expected. The block of U.S. military losses in the Gulf were caused by these drones.
Iran has more than once announced that it was not employing all of its military capabilities, and in line with this, CNN’s latest report is not surprising.
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