Iranian army shot down an American fighter jet
- The Iranian army shot down an American fighter jet on Friday.
- One of the two airmen ejected in flight and was exfiltrated during a special forces raid in southwestern Iran.
- The fate of the second remains unknown.
A race against time. Over a month after the start of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran, both sides have been searching for an American soldier since Friday, April 3. He was on board the first American combat plane to crash since the start of the war, with Tehran claiming to have hit the aircraft.
What happened to the soldier? American media announced on Friday that his colleague had been rescued in southwestern Iran. The aircraft was destroyed by an anti-aircraft defense system of the Revolutionary Guards, said an Iranian military spokesperson. The New York Times and the Washington Post said they authenticated photos and videos circulating on social media and in Iranian media showing American helicopters and planes flying low over the area. The Iranian state television in the region broadcasted images purported to be of the wreckage, promising a “handsome reward” for anyone who delivers the pilots.
Donald Trump “informed” of the aircraft loss
In such situations, military pilots are trained to check that they are not injured, orient themselves, then “avoid being captured by the enemy as long as possible” by hiding in the hope of rescue, explained former US Air Force pilot Houston Cantwell to AFP. Each pilot wears a combat vest containing a coded radio-GPS beacon to transmit their position.
The White House simply stated that Donald Trump had been “informed” of the loss of the aircraft in southwestern Iran, which reportedly was an F-15E fighter-bomber, according to the media. Contacted by AFP, the American Central Command, Centcom, did not respond. In a brief phone interview with NBC, the US president assured that this did not change “nothing at all” regarding potential negotiations with Tehran.
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War in the Middle East: Iran claims to have hit a second American combat plane
This is the first serious setback for the American air force, over a month after the start of the war against the Islamic Republic, resulting in thousands of deaths, mostly in Iran and Lebanon. Especially since the Iranian army claimed that its anti-aircraft defense hit another American plane, an A-10, which then crashed in the Gulf.
The New York Times had previously reported the crash of an American plane near the Strait of Hormuz, with its sole pilot being rescued unharmed. Since the beginning of the war, 13 American soldiers have died in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
