Iran appears to have successfully shot down a U.S. fighter jet for the first time.
CNN, CBS, the New York Times and the Washington Post on Saturday cited multiple U.S. and Israeli officials who confirmed the downing of a U.S. Air Force fighter jet. The White House and the U.S. military have yet to issue an official statement, but if confirmed, it would mark the first time a U.S. fighter jet has been shot down in the war with Iran.
The downed aircraft is believed to be an F-15E Strike Eagle, a two-seat fighter jet. Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down the jet with anti-aircraft fire. The outlet said one crew member ejected from the crashing aircraft and released images of an ejection seat that landed onshore. CNN analyzed that the seat matches the model used in F-15 fighter jets. Wreckage photos previously released by Iranian state media were also found to match U.S. Air Force reference images of the F-15.
The U.S. military appears to have launched a search operation to rescue the crew. One low-flying, slow-speed aircraft and two helicopters were spotted, which CNN described as a typical search-and-rescue operation profile. The Washington Post, citing expert analysis, assessed that HH-60G search-and-rescue helicopters were deployed, accompanied by a KC-130 aerial refueling tanker to supply fuel to the helicopters. CBS, citing two U.S. officials, reported that the military rescued one crew member — believed to be the person who ejected from the F-15.
Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported a day earlier that the IRGC had separately shot down a U.S. fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet for a second time. However, the authenticity of that claim remains unverified.
The downing contradicts claims by President Donald Trump and the U.S. military that Iran's air defense network had been completely neutralized. At the Future Investment Initiative Summit in Miami, Florida, on May 27, Trump repeatedly stressed that Iran's navy, air force, air defenses and communications networks had all been destroyed. He also claimed that Iran's leadership, including its supreme leader, had been eliminated. In a nationally televised address on June 1, Trump asserted that "Iran's missile and drone launch capabilities have been dramatically weakened, and weapons factories and rocket launch sites are being shattered — there is almost nothing left."
CNN reported Saturday that despite five weeks of daily airstrikes by the United States and Israel targeting military objectives, approximately half of Iran's missile launchers remain intact, according to an intelligence community assessment. Intelligence data showed that thousands of Iranian attack drones remain in arsenals, representing roughly 50% of Iran's total drone capacity. A significant number of Iran's coastal defense cruise missiles capable of threatening vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz were also found to be undamaged.