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The United States military has launched a daring operation inside Iranian territories to rescue the pilot and weapon systems officer whose F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down early on April 3.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initially said that an F-35 Lightning II fighter jet was downed by its air defenses. However, photos of the wreckage revealed that the fighter jet was an F-15E, specifically from the U.S. Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom.
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It is unclear yet if both the pilot and the weapons systems officer are still alive, but one of the photos from the crash sites showed an ejection seat, indicating that there was an ejection.
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And while the guards said that the fighter jet was downed over the central region of the Islamic Republic, the incident actually took place over the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, according to more recent reports by Iranian media.
American special operation aircraft, specifically MC-130J Commando II planes and MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, were seen in videos posted to social networks flying over the province at a very low altitude, leading the U.S. military’s search and rescue operation.
Later, footage showing F-35s, A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jets and MQ-9 Reaper combat drones circling over the same part of the province surfaced online.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting aired a message to the residency of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, calling on them to aid in the search for the “pilot or pilots” of the downed F-15E, promising that any one who find them will “receive a valuable reward.”
Other reports from Iranian media said that troops from the Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba Brigade of Iran’s IRGC Ground Forces were clashing with U.S. special operators on the ground in the province. There are also rumors of one of the Black Hawks getting shot down, or destroyed on the ground.
The U.S. Central Command, responsible for all American operations in the Middle East, has not yet commented on the situation.
The downing of the fighter jet was a blow to the U.S. military, which has been waging war along with Israel against the Islamic Republic for over a month now.
The capture of the pilot or the weapon systems officer would be an even larger blow, but a more serious setback would be if the IRGC manages to take advantage of the ongoing search and rescue operation to inflict even more losses on the U.S. military.
The Americans have some bad memories when it comes to special operations in Iran. In 1980, just a year after the Islamic Revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the U.S. launched Operation Eagle Claw to rescue 52 American hostages held in the capital, Tehran.
The operation was a complete failure, with the planes and helicopter sent in suffering failures and a fatal collision. The catastrophe resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. troops.
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