Here’s what we know so far about the US fighter jet downed over Iran. 663 hours in the past. Grace Eliza Goodwin. A search continues for a missing crew member after a US F-15 fighter jet was shot down over southern Iran on Friday. US forces rescued one of the two crew members, but efforts to locate the second are ongoing, according to US media reports. Iranian officials stated that the aircraft was downed by their air defense system. There has been no official US comment. Where and when was the jet shot down? Iranian state media initially reported on Friday that the country’s military had downed a US jet in its southern region. Follow live updates on the US-Israel war with Iran. A search-and-rescue operation successfully retrieved the F-15E jet’s pilot, but the fate of the aircraft’s second crew member, a weapons systems officer, is still unknown. The mission reportedly involved an A-10 Warthog that was struck over the Gulf, with its pilot ejecting and being rescued. One helicopter transporting the rescued F-15E pilot was hit by small-arms fire, wounding onboard crew members, though it landed safely, according to US media. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that local nomadic tribes in the country’s mountains fired on two Black Hawk helicopters from the US rescue effort. BBC Verify verified a video from Friday depicting three armed people shooting at least two Black Hawk helicopters. Iran’s top joint military command attributed the downing of both US warplanes to advanced Iranian air defense systems, per the state-linked IRNA news agency. The precise site of the reported F-15 downing remains unverified, though Iran’s state media cited two potential provinces: Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, or Khuzestan. Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, a rugged southwestern province, has over 700,000 residents, including nomads. Local nomads commonly carry rifles to defend their livestock and camps against wildlife and theft in the isolated highlands. Khuzestan province is a major hub for oil production and other industries. It has a population exceeding 4.7 million, featuring a diverse mix of Arabs, Persians, Lors, and various other ethnic groups. What is known about the jet’s purpose?
