F-15E shootdown

In early April 2026, a combat search and rescue (CSAR) operation was conducted by the United States Department of Defense to recover two crew members of a McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle of the 494th Fighter Squadron. The aircraft had been shot down over Iran by Iranian forces on 3 April 2026, during the 2026 Iran war.

The pilot was rescued by U.S. forces seven hours after the crash. The operation involved hundreds of U.S. troops and dozens of aircraft. The weapon systems officer (WSO) escaped in the area of the Zagros Mountains, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), U.S. combat search and rescue personnel, and the local nomadic tribesmen worked to find him. The WSO was recovered by U.S. forces supported by 155 aircraft. A U.S. military official described it as "one of the most challenging and complex [missions] in the history of U.S. special operations."

Iran claimed multiple aircraft shootdowns during the rescue operation. The U.S. claimed there had been a shootdown of one of its A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, and the intentional destruction of two of its Lockheed MC-130 transport aircraft and four helicopters to avoid capture. Iran later claimed the "operation may have been a deceptive plan to steal enriched uranium" of Iran's nuclear program, and compared the operation to the failed 1980 Operation Eagle Claw, the last publicly acknowledged U.S. military ground operation in Iran.

Background

On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel started a series of surprise attacks on a variety of military and industrial targets across Iran, thus starting the war with Iran. On 24 March, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran was unable to "do a thing" about U.S. aircraft operating in its airspace.

On 3 April, an American F-15E Strike Eagle (call sign Dude 44) was shot down by Iran with a shoulder-fired missile, which the BBC described as a "significant blow" to Trump's administration. The two crew members ejected and landed in Iranian territory.