Iran New Air Defence Weapon: Iran said on Saturday that a new air defence system helped its forces attack American aircraft during the war with the United States and Israel. Iranian state media and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, said the system was used during fighting in the south of Isfahan. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command also said the same system had already been used against US aircraft and claimed it would help Iran “definitely achieve full control” over its airspace.
United States had confirmed that one downed F-15E crew member was rescued and that the second missing crew member was later rescued as well.
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F-15E Went Down And Both Crew Members Got Out
The US fighter jet involved was an F-15E Strike Eagle. Reports said the plane went down in Iran and both crew members had to eject. One crew member was rescued first. The second crew member was missing for a time, but was later brought out in a rescue mission. The aircraft is believed to have crashed in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in southwestern Iran near the Iraqi border. Reports in the coverage said the jet is worth about $31 million.
Some reports said Iran may have used the Third Khordad missile system to hit the aircraft. This is a mobile medium-range air defence system. Other experts quoted in news reports said Iran may have used passive infrared detection systems instead. These systems follow the heat or movement of aircraft without sending out radar signals. That can make it harder for US warplanes to notice the threat in time.
Rescue Mission Faced More Fire
After the fighter jet went down, the United States launched a rescue mission to find the missing crew member. Iran then said another American aircraft involved in that mission was hit while searching in the southern Isfahan area. Iranian media made more claims after that and said several US aircraft were destroyed during the operation.
The US rescue mission did succeed in bringing out the missing airman. Reuters also said two US Black Hawk helicopters were fired on but escaped Iranian airspace, while a separate US A-10 aircraft was later downed over Kuwait.
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These losses are being described as the first confirmed US aircraft losses connected to operations inside Iran since this war began on February 28. The fighting has now gone on for weeks and has become much more dangerous.
US officials say their military campaign has hit more than 12,300 targets since the war started. They also say Iran’s missile and drone strength has been cut by more than 90%. Even with that, the latest aircraft losses have shown that Iran can still strike back and make US rescue and combat missions much harder.
