The US has lost at least six military aircraft during US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday and in the operation to retrieve a pilot and a weapons system officer (WSO) who manned the F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iranian territory.
On the same day the F-15 was shot down, an A-10 attack plane was also hit by Iranian fire. According to Iranian media, the plane crashed in the Persian Gulf, and US officials said the pilot managed to make it to Kuwaiti airspace and eject from the aircraft.
According to a US official speaking to The Washington Post, US forces had to blow up two C-130 cargo planes and at least two MH-6 “Little Bird” helicopters as they were departing Iran, while the Iranians say their forces destroyed the US aircraft in Isfahan, central Iran. Iranian media also released a photo of the wreckage.
Two US military helicopters were also damaged by Iranian fire, and some of the crew were injured, but the aircraft managed to travel back to a US base in the region and land, according to US sources. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also said that its forces downed an Israeli Hermes-900 drone as well as a US MQ-9 drone over Isfahan during the US search and rescue mission.
According to US sources, the pilot of the F-15 was recovered about six hours after he ejected from the aircraft by a force of US attack planes and helicopters that came under heavy Iranian fire. It took much longer for the US to find the WSO, who reportedly hiked up a 7,000-foot ridgeline and used a beacon he was carrying to reveal his location to US forces.
Iranians were mobilized to find the missing US airman, so US officials said heavy airstrikes were launched in the area as special operations forces were sent in to extract him. Some reports say a heavy firefight ensued, while other accounts say US forces opened fire in the area but didn’t engage with anyone.
US officials said that the two C-130s and two Little Birds were destroyed at a makeshift airstrip after they got stuck in the sand, and more special operations aircraft were sent in to complete the mission. President Trump insisted that no Americans were killed in the operation, though he described the WSO as “seriously wounded.” Trump also said he would deliver remarks on the operations at 1:00 pm EST on Monday.
The rescue mission marks the first known US ground operation in Iran, though The New York Times said that an airstrip in Iran used in the operation was “previously developed for possible rescues or other contingencies” by US special operations forces, suggesting it was established before the F-15 was shot down.
Trump and his Pentagon have been preparing for potential ground operations that could include attempting to seize Iranian islands and ports or entering Iranian territory to extract Iran’s enriched uranium.
