UPDATE April 3, 2026, 11:57 a.m. ET: CBS is reporting that one crewmember from the two-seater F-15E downed in Iran this morning has been rescued:
A U.S. F-15E fighter jet was downed over Iran Friday, and one crew member from the plane was later rescued by American forces, U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News.
The F-15E is flown by a two-member crew and a search and rescue effort is ongoing, sources said.
Earlier Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard claimed it shot down a U.S. fighter jet over the middle of the country.
Photos and video were circulating on social media, shared by Iranian state news outlets, suggesting at least one U.S. C-130 aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters were spotted flying low over central and southwest Iran in what was described as a possible effort to locate and recover the crew.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has made regular announcements over the last month that they had shot down American warplanes. All the previous reports turned out to be bogus.
In truth, the Russian air defense systems, as well as locally designed and manufactured systems, have proven hopelessly inadequate. The radars that those systems depend on were destroyed in the first hours of the war, along with the network that makes them effective.
But even an inadequate system can get lucky. That has apparently happened, as a U.S. warplane, believed to be an American F-35, was either shot down or crashed due to a technical malfunction in Iran.
My latest: Iran claimed it shot down a US fighter jet, triggering a race to find the missing pilot.
Locals also shared footage on social media showing what appeared to be an American military search and a rescue plane circling southern Iran.https://t.co/2LkQMdF2oc
— Jotam Confino (@mrconfino) April 3, 2026
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.
Photos of the U.S. rescue operation:
🚨#Breaking: A US attempt to rescue a downed fighter pilot has failed. American forces launched a search operation using Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 Hercules aircraft, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The pilot’s jet was shot down by Iranian forces air defense units. pic.twitter.com/R0AtGvwYW3
— Haidar Al-Karrar ☫ (@HaidarAkarar) April 3, 2026
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, according to the Times.
The photos below are courtesy of Iranian state media. View them in that context.
Confirmed more additional new photos
🇮🇷🇮🇱🇺🇸 Spokesman of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters:
A second US fifth-generation F-35 was struck and downed over central Iran by a new IRGC Aerospace Force air-defense system. Given the massive explosion on impact and during the… pic.twitter.com/KWJ6NwMLbR
— Heidi La Levantine (@LadyJustice9111) April 3, 2026
The BBC’s senior Persian reporter says the U.S. is “searching for the crew of a downed fighter jet in Behbahan, Khuzestan Province,” which is in central Iran.
Low-altitude flights of US aircraft searching for the crew of a downed fighter jet in Behbahan, Khuzestan Province. https://t.co/f7vsaphFCN pic.twitter.com/3xU05C1Wzw
— Farzad Seifikaran (@FSeifikaran) April 3, 2026
The Daily Beast has its priorities in order.
Headline: “Iran Shoots Down U.S. F-15 Fighter in Humiliation for Trump.”
The state-run Tasnim agency said that the search for any missing crew had “so far been unsuccessful.” Separately, on Fars News, an anchor said a reward was being offered for anyone capturing an “enemy pilot or pilots.”
It wasn’t immediately clear where in Iran the jet went down. The US military and the White House have not commented on the situation or the status of the crew.
Video geolocated by CNN showed multiple low flying military aircraft over Khuzestan Province in central Iran as part of an apparent search and rescue operation.
In the video, one airplane can be seen flying low over the ground while two helicopters follow closely behind – a formation that is consistent with an air-to-air refueling operation. The video was taken on a bridge over the Karoon river, which is around 470 km south of Tehran.
The incident marks the first time a US aircraft has been shot down over Iran during the conflict. Near the beginning of the war, three F-15s were mistakenly shot down in a friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti air defenses.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
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