Well, this isn't good. It appears that Iran got a lucky shot in and took down what appears to be an F-15.
Reports are still murky, but the evidence that Iran succeeded in downing an F-15 is growing, and Axios appears to have broken the story.
Iran has shot down a U.S. fighter jet, per two sources familiar with the incident, and a search and rescue effort is underway to locate two crew.
The big picture: It's the first time since the beginning of the war that a U.S. jet was downed by enemy fire.
- The U.S. military and the White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Driving the news: On Friday, Iranian state media published pictures and videos that allegedly show parts of the downed plane and one of the ejection seats.
As with all things breaking, X is filled with speculation, but also evidence. There are what appear to be major rescue operations ongoing in southern Iran, including low-flying helicopters in dangerous territory.
Breaking News: Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet over the country, U.S. officials and Iranian media said. The fate of the crew was unclear. https://t.co/lFyRA6sis0
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 3, 2026
The New York Times is now reporting that the craft was shot down, with similarly few details.
An anchor for a local affiliate of Iran’s state broadcaster read a statement on television calling on local residents to capture the “enemy’s pilot or pilots” and turn them over alive to security forces in return for a reward.
Two outlets affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that helicopters were searching for the pilots, citing unnamed sources. One of the outlets, the Fars news agency, said it was unclear who the helicopters belonged to, while the other outlet, Tasnim, reported that they were American and that one of them was forced to retreat after coming under fire. Tasnim said an American Hercules C-130 aircraft was also involved in the search.
Mizan, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, also reported that an American search-and-rescue mission was underway for the pilot and published pictures of what it said were American aircraft in Iran’s skies.
Now CBS reporting that the the fighter jet downed over Iran was an F-15E, citing two US sources. https://t.co/y9MusXINlM
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 3, 2026
BREAKING - DEVELOPING:
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 3, 2026
American fighter jet shot down, and Iran is trying to capture the pilot while the U.S. launches a massive search and rescue operation
Seems Iran shot down an F-15 fighter jet, and is trying to captured the pilot
A massive American search operation is… pic.twitter.com/bxvpeYZsyT
Iran has made many claims of shootdowns of American craft, but until now, the only US losses have been to friendly fire or accident. If the American pilots are captured and held as POWs, the war just got a lot more complicated.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 U.S. Air Force HC-130J Combat King II flying low over southern Iran
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 3, 2026
It’s built to refuel rescue helicopters and pull people out of denied territory.
Which means it’s a live recovery mission, inside hostile airspace, with the clock already running.pic.twitter.com/bUtFnjMzlO https://t.co/CCEzjbYMTU
MORE: Crater of the impact. pic.twitter.com/uQHTCykuNx
— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) April 3, 2026
Details are obviously scarce, and so far CENTCOM has not commented, as one would expect. But there are images of the craft's wreckage, including one of an empty ejection seat, indicating that at least one crew member survived.
Who took the photograph and what happened to the crewmen is not known at this time.
A McDonnell-Douglas ACES II (Advanced Concept Ejection Seat) from a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle has been found by residents in Southern Iran, the whereabouts or status of the pilot and weapons officer is currently unknown, with unconfirmed reports that one or both of the… pic.twitter.com/V0KMonfQiv
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 3, 2026
A McDonnell-Douglas ACES II (Advanced Concept Ejection Seat) from a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle has been found by residents in Southern Iran, the whereabouts or status of the pilot and weapons officer is currently unknown, with unconfirmed reports that one or both of the crewmembers have been captured by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
There really isn't much else to report at the moment. We'll keep you updates as we can do so.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 Close-up footage of a MC-130J Commando II refueling two UH-60 Black Hawks over southwestern Iran.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 3, 2026
A combat search and rescue in hostile airspace.
Somewhere below, a downed F-15E Strike Eagle crew is still unaccounted for.@TabzLIVE https://t.co/Fyd6xQjjUt pic.twitter.com/4CCy0wFVLa
UPDATES:
BREAKING: Iran offers a reward to the public for the capture of a U.S. pilot alive after claiming to have shot down a Black Hawk helicopter. pic.twitter.com/J3PC3o9u4M
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) April 3, 2026
SPECIAL REPORT: U.S. F-15 fighter jet downed over Iran; search and rescue underway https://t.co/8djo1zEtRZ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 3, 2026
There are multiple, but unconfirmed, reports that one of the pilots has been rescued:
Awaiting confirm: one F-15 US pilot reportedly extracted from Iran: https://t.co/7yCRK1zPCf
— IronHorsey 🇺🇸 (@IronHorsey2000) April 3, 2026
Yes, confirmed. Jerusalem Post reports a source with knowledge stating one of two US pilots from the F-15E shot down over central Iran has been rescued. Search and rescue operations continue for the second pilot. Multiple outlets including BBC, Guardian, and CBS corroborate the…
— Grok (@grok) April 3, 2026
Iran shot down a United States fighter jet over central Iran in the first instance of a US aircraft being downed by enemy fire, a source with knowledge of the incident confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Friday.
The source additionally confirmed that one of the two pilots of the jet was rescued, and search and rescue operations are underway to locate the second.
Reports from multiple accounts are saying both pilots are alive and were rescued.
— Frank Picone (@rams1130) April 3, 2026
BREAKING: One of two crew members of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down over Iran was located and rescued by U.S. special forces and the search for the second is ongoing, sources tell Axios. https://t.co/ZXndzj9n5I
— Axios (@axios) April 3, 2026
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