A United States Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet has been shot down over Iran, with one of its two crew members rescued alive by American special forces and a search underway for the second, US officials and multiple major news organisations confirmed on Friday, April 3, 2026.
One of two crew members of the downed US fighter jet was located and rescued by US special forces, with the search for the second still ongoing, according to an Israeli official and a second source with knowledge of the situation.
One of the US sources confirmed the aircraft was an F-15E Strike Eagle, a Boeing-made jet capable of carrying out both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. F-15Es typically fly with a two-member crew: a pilot and a weapons systems officer. The rescued crew member is alive and receiving medical attention.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the shootdown. Iranian state media released photographs of what it claimed was the wreckage of the aircraft, showing a partial logo for “US Air Forces in Europe” on a tail fin and red-and-white striping consistent with an F-15. A second piece of wreckage bore text that aviation analysts said matched the rear portion of an F-15 between one of its two engines and its horizontal stabiliser.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the search for the missing crew member had “so far been unsuccessful,” while Fars News reported that a reward was being offered for anyone who finds the crew alive. Local traders in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province offered 10 billion tomans, equivalent to approximately $76,000, for anyone who locates the crew.
Israel cancelled planned strikes in Iran to avoid hampering the search and rescue effort, and is assisting the United States with intelligence to locate the second crew member.
This marks the first time a manned US aircraft has been downed by enemy fire since the start of the military campaign, coming after repeated assertions by President Donald Trump, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and senior military commanders that Iran had been largely deprived of effective air defences. Trump was briefed on the incident, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed.
The US has lost at least 16 MQ-9 Reaper drones over Iran since the war began. Three F-15 fighter jets were also previously shot down over Kuwait in a friendly fire incident early in the conflict, with no casualties in that instance.
The incident is developing rapidly. NewsGhana will provide updates as the situation evolves.
