2 US Fighter Jets, Black Hawk Choppers Hit By Iran, 2 Pilots Rescued, 1 Missing

New Delhi: Iran shot down two US warplanes on Friday, with two pilots rescued and a third still missing and being hunted by Tehran. The first plane, a two-seat US F-15E jet, was shot down in Iran, with US media reporting that American special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other still missing. The US F-15E Strike Eagle, a $31.1 million aircraft (about Rs 289 crore), carries a pilot and weapons system officer. It was unclear which of the two was rescued. The second plane, an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft, which costs about $18.8 million (around Rs 174 crore) per jet, was hit and crashed over Kuwait, with the pilot ejecting.

Two Black Hawk helicopters that were involved in the search effort for the missing pilot were also hit by Iran but made it out of Iranian airspace, two US officials told news agency Reuters. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon released public information about the downed planes, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump “has been briefed”. Trump, speaking to NBC News, said the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying, “No, not at all. No, it’s war.”

The incident comes over a week after Trump said that Iran’s military had been defeated to the point that “we literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can’t do a thing about it.” Iran also reportedly damaged the US’ CH-47 Chinook helicopter at Camp Buehring base in Kuwait.

Iran Announces Reward For Capturing US Pilot
An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured the US pilot alive would “receive a valuable reward”. An Iranian governor also promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed “forces of the hostile enemy”. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing an area near where the plane came down in southwestern Iran. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that the US and Israel’s war had been “downgraded from regime change” to a hunt for their pilots. “After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from “regime change” to “Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?” Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses,” Qalibaf posted on X.

US-Israel-Iran War
It was the first time a US aircraft was downed in the Iran war, which broke out on February 28 when the American and Israeli forces attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Throughout the war, Iran has repeatedly claimed to have shot down piloted enemy aircraft. The US military has announced the loss of several aircraft during Iran operations, including one tanker that crashed in Iraq and three F-15s shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire. More than 1,900 people have been killed in the Iran war. About two dozen people have died in Gulf states in Iran’s retaliation; 19 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 US service members have been killed.