U.S. F-15E and A-10 Thunderbolt II shot down over Iran

RambleTamble

RambleTamble

Senior Member
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On April 3, 2026, U.S. officials confirmed that a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by Iranian forces over Iranian territory. This incident marks the first confirmed loss of a manned American combat aircraft to enemy fire during the current five-week conflict.

Incident Details
  • Aircraft Type: A two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle, reportedly from the 494th Fighter Squadron.
  • Location: The aircraft went down in southwestern Iran, with wreckage reported in Khuzestan Province.
  • Cause: Iranian officials claim the jet was downed by "newly developed and advanced air defenses" operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). U.S. officials confirmed the aircraft was shot down while conducting operations inside Iranian airspace.
F-15E_takes_on_fuel_from_KC-10.jpg
F-15E

Status of Crew
  • Rescued: One crew member was successfully recovered from Iranian soil in a daring search-and-rescue mission involving U.S. special forces and helicopters.
  • Missing: The second crew member, identified as a weapons systems officer, remains missing as of Friday afternoon.
  • Bounty: Iranian state media has offered a "valuable reward" or bounty to any citizen who captures or hands over the missing American aviator.
Secondary Incident
During the rescue operation for the F-15E crew, a second American combat plane—an A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog)—was damaged or shot down. The A-10 pilot successfully ejected over the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz and was recovered by U.S. forces.

Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II_-_32156159151.jpg
A-10 Thunderbolt II
 
RambleTamble said:
On April 3, 2026, U.S. officials confirmed that a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by Iranian forces over Iranian territory. This incident marks the first confirmed loss of a manned American combat aircraft to enemy fire during the current five-week conflict.

Incident Details
  • Aircraft Type: A two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle, reportedly from the 494th Fighter Squadron.
  • Location: The aircraft went down in southwestern Iran, with wreckage reported in Khuzestan Province.
  • Cause: Iranian officials claim the jet was downed by "newly developed and advanced air defenses" operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). U.S. officials confirmed the aircraft was shot down while conducting operations inside Iranian airspace.
View attachment 495295
F-15E

Status of Crew
  • Rescued: One crew member was successfully recovered from Iranian soil in a daring search-and-rescue mission involving U.S. special forces and helicopters.
Click to expand...


RambleTamble said:
  • Missing: The second crew member, identified as a weapons systems officer, remains missing as of Friday afternoon.
Click to expand...

I wonder who is still missing? Is it Tom Cruise or Miles Teller?
I hope it's Cruise. I like Teller better.
 
I hope that crewman can find his way out of there. If he's caught by Iran, they're probably not going to go easy on him unless they can use him as a bargaining chip.

As of April 3, 2026, the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran has resulted in significant Iranian casualties, with estimates varying by source.

Reported Iranian Casualties
  • Total Killed: Estimates range from 2,076 to over 3,500 people since the war began on February 28, 2026.
  • Total Injured: Over 25,000 to 26,500 Iranians have been reported wounded.
Specific Incidents and Impact
  • Civilian Toll: Human rights groups report that approximately 1,606 of the deceased were civilians, including at least 244 children.
  • Major Strike: An early strike on February 28, 2026, targeting a naval base in Minab, hit an adjacent girls' school, killing approximately 170 to 175 people, mostly children.
  • Leadership: The initial wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of other high-ranking officials.
  • Military Infrastructure: The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated it has struck more than 3,000 targets and destroyed 43 Iranian warships as of early March.
 
Except for the first F-15 shot down it appears the other aircraft made it out of Iran and either crashed or landed with damage in 'friendly' territory. Hopefully the second pilot will be found soon.

If he was captured I'm sure Iran would use them for fodder for another hostage crisis. I hope no word yet means they are keeping information to a minimum to make a rescue or retrieval easier.

Also unclear if these planes hit with anti craft missiles or rockets or heavy caliber ammunition. And were they assisted by Russian or Chinese advisors, techs and/or equipment.

As time goes the odds increase of more shoot downs and casualties.

Peace
 
According to our news over here, there were
2 of those aircraft knocked down, one of the
airmen from the first one is missing, the crew
of the other are safe and rescued.

Mike.
 
The second crew member of the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran was successfully rescued by U.S. Special Operations forces in a high-risk mission on Saturday night, April 4, 2026.

The weapons systems officer, who had been missing for approximately 48 hours following the crash on Friday, was extracted from deep within Iranian territory after a "heavy firefight". The pilot of the aircraft had been rescued shortly after the downing.

Details of the Rescue Operation
Mission Scope: The extraction involved hundreds of special operations troops and dozens of aircraft, including warplanes and helicopters.
Location: The rescue took place in southwest Iran, reportedly in the Khuzestan or Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces, where the airman had been evading capture.

Extraction: During the final phase, U.S. commandos intentionally destroyed two of their own transport planes that became disabled at a remote site to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.

The estimated total hardware loss for the four aircraft is $220 million to $310 million, depending on whether you account for their historical acquisition value or the cost to replace them with modern equivalents today.
 
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