TEHRAN, April 03, 2026: Two American jets and a Black Hawk helicopter were downed by Iran on Friday, Iranian reports claimed, even as the US launched search operation to rescue pilots in the Iranian territory.
US has launched a rescue operation after Iranian media said an American fighter jet went down in Iran. (Agencies)
The latest comes even as the United States scrambled jets and helicopters after its official confirmed that Iran downed a fighter jet over the country.
The New York Times, citing US officials confirmed that a US fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday. The fate of the plane’s crew was not known even as American forces launched a search and rescue operation to trace any survivors, before Iran could get them.
While the Iranian media reports said to have downed a US F-15E fighter jet, hours after taking down US fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet, the US is yet to clarify which of the two jets was shot.
One crew member from a US fighter jet that was shot down over Iran has been rescued by the US forces, CBS News reported, citing US officials. While the F-15E Strike Eagle claimed to have been shot on Friday is a two-seat aircraft, crewed by a pilot and a weapons systems officer (WSO). The F-35, in all its variants, is a single-seat aircraft with just the pilot.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said the air defense systems successfully downed a US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Iraqi airspace. The helicopter was apparently part of the search and rescue mission carried out by the US to locate pilot of the downed F-15 jet. However, the US officials are yet to react to the Iranian claim.
