One US pilot rescued, another missing after Iran says it downed fighter jet

An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off for a combat flight during Operation Epic Fury, on March 16, 2026. (Handout) One crew member from a US fighter jet shot down over Iran has been rescued by US forces, multiple news outlets reported on Friday, citing two US officials, while a second crew member remains missing.

Iran on Friday claimed to have shot down an American fighter jet, releasing photos of apparent wreckage of an F-15E, while the United States reportedly launched a search-and-rescue operation for the crew.

Earlier on Friday, Iranian state media released photos and videos purported to be the debris of the downed aircraft and one of its ejection seats.

The US military did not immediately confirm or deny the reports.

But several news outlets cited official sources saying a US fighter jet was downed and a search and rescue effort was under way.

If confirmed, it would mark the first time a US fighter jet has been shot down in combat during the war with Iran since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28.

The Iranian armed forces initially claimed it was an F-35 brought down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ air defence system.

However, the pictures from the crash site show debris belonging to an F-15E, with distinctive signs identified as aircraft assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath in England, according to military site TWZ.com.

This unit has been deployed to the US Central Command for Operation Epic Fury.

If the plane involved was indeed a twin-seat F-15E, that would suggest there were two crew members on board.

Two US officials told multiple news outlets that one of them had been rescued, though the other was still missing.

Iranian media shared online images appearing to show American aircraft, including helicopters, transport planes and drones, flying over the country’s rural province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, about 500km southwest of Tehran and over 200km east of Iraq border.

Unverified online photos showed a US HC-130 search and rescue (SAR) aircraft and HH-60G helicopter in flight, while open-source flight tracking data indicated that a US KC-46 aerial refuelling tanker loitered over the Persian Gulf for an extended period.

The Iranian authorities have urged the nomadic people and villagers living in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province to cooperate with the military and local police on the manhunt by handing over downed American pilots alive to security agencies to “receive a precious prize”, AP reported.

原文链接: 南华早报