US Warplanes Downed By Iran: The war between the United States and Iran looked even more serious after two American military aircraft went down in separate incidents. In one case, a US fighter jet was brought down over Iran. One crew member was saved, but another was still missing as rescue teams kept searching. In the second case, Iranian state media said a US A-10 attack plane crashed in the Persian Gulf after Iranian forces hit it.
A US official said it was still not clear if that aircraft crashed on its own or was shot down. These incidents came only two days after President Donald Trump said the US had “beaten and completely decimated Iran”. Recent reporting from Reuters says one F-15E crew member was rescued, another was still missing, and a second US aircraft went down in the region.
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Iran’s Air Defence is Damaged but still Working
Even after heavy US attacks on Iranian military sites, Iran still seems able to strike back in the sky. Reports say the reason is simple. Iran does not depend on one single defence system. It uses many layers, spread across different places, so if one part gets hit, other parts can still work. This makes the whole network harder to destroy.
At the top level is the Bavar-373. This is a long-range air defence system made in Iran. It uses advanced radar and Sayyad missiles and can hit targets from more than 200 km away. In the middle layer, Iran uses systems like the Khordad-15. That one can watch and follow several targets at the same time.
These systems are helped by mobile launchers and radar units that can move around, which makes them harder to find and destroy. Reports also say older Soviet-era systems are still part of the network, which adds more strength even after repeated strikes. Reuters also reported on April 4 that Iran said it used a new air defence system to target a US fighter jet, showing that its defensive ability is still active.
Small missiles causing Big Trouble
A big danger for US aircraft now appears to be MANPADS. These are shoulder-fired missiles that one person can carry and launch. They are small, hard to spot, and hard to stop. A retired US Army colonel told Al Jazeera that Iran’s bigger air defence systems were badly damaged early in the war, but these portable missiles likely stayed in use and may have been the reason a US F-15 was shot down.
These missiles usually work best from about 3 to 6 miles away and below 15,000 feet. They follow the heat from an aircraft’s engine, so they do not need radar to lock on. Because of that, they are tougher to jam or detect early. One report said the missile used in a near-miss against a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet on March 25 was likely a Misagh missile, which is Iran’s version of the Chinese QW-1 system.
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More short-range weapons
Iran’s shorter-range air defence systems also seem to be working. Reports said that on March 31, Iranian forces shot down two US MQ-9 Reaper drones over Isfahan using the AD-08 Majid short-range air defence system. Analysts also said a Raad air defence system may have damaged an F-35 and forced what was described as the first combat-related emergency landing for that aircraft.
An April 3 incident gave another example of that danger. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released video that it said showed the shootdown of a US F-15 near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
The video reportedly showed a ground-based infrared tracking system following the aircraft while it turned and dropped flares before going down. The plane was flying low, which is often done during close air support and rescue work. But flying low also puts aircraft in the danger zone for short-range missiles and MANPADS. Reports said mountain areas in Iranian border provinces like Khuzestan can make that danger even worse because they create good hiding places for ambushes. Reuters and other outlets have confirmed the F-15E loss and the rescue mission that followed, though some battlefield details remain based on local and secondary reporting.
Rescue missions
The danger did not end after the first aircraft went down. Reports said the rescue effort included HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters and at least one A-10C+ aircraft assigned to rescue combat air patrol duties. During that operation, one A-10C+ was reportedly hit by a MANPADS and suffered minor damage to its tail area.
Two search-and-rescue helicopters were also hit, and some crew members were hurt, but the helicopters made it back safely. The Washington Post also reported that two US rescue helicopters were struck during the effort and returned with injured personnel.
