Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Iranian missile forces managed to shoot down an F-15E Strike Eagle multirole strike fighter, the US military's workhorse since the Gulf War.
 So we lost one 30+ year old airplane shot down out of 12,000 combat sorties, then successfully rescued both crewmen in hostile territory under fire, while on the other side of the world we sent astronauts around the moon? Not a bad day’s work.
Although the plane wasn't the first loss during the anti-Iranian campaign, its crash caused the Pentagon and the White House considerable trouble. In part because the United States had to scramble to extract its pilots from deep behind enemy lines, racing against the opposing side's security forces.
| Everyone executed just as they’d trained, with help from Israel and local anti-Mullahcracy Iranians. A good time was had by all, except the Mullah’s minions who got themselves killed trying to win the $60,000 reward for capturing the second crewman. |
AN EXPENSIVE PLEASURE
Since the beginning of the operation against Iran, the US military has lost 36 vehicles, either destroyed or damaged. Approximately half of these were MQ-9 reconnaissance drones and Chinese Wing Loong 2 drones. These drones are in service with the US's Arab allies and are used in military operations against Iran with their consent, including for monitoring the situation in the Gulf littoral areas.
In addition to various types of UAVs, the list includes several multi-role fighters, at least seven tanker aircraft, four helicopters and several support aircraft.
In total, the first month of "Epic Fury" cost the American military aircraft fleet approximately $2 billion. However, this figure apparently only reflects the cost of repairs to the damaged aircraft.
Replacing the lost aircraft, including the E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne early warning system, which has a base price of over $600 million, will cost the Pentagon even more given the urgency.
| That’s ok. Between DOGE efforts and all the other cost saving and fraud busting efforts, we have a lot more money to play with than we did a year ago. Besides, ending the Mullahcracy problem is a lot cheaper than continue the half hearted efforts of the past almost half century. |
True, approximately half of the aircraft destroyed were losses "at home."
| I have no idea what that means. |
Most American aircraft managed to emerge from actual combat engagements without damage.
The shock was even greater after the Iranians were able to “forcefully land” one of the F-15E fighters that had entered the combat zone on April 3.
| Being totally civilian, and Passover prep being all-absorbing for a few days, I somehow have missed that. |
IRANIAN SLAP
The fighter jet lost over central Iran is the fourth aircraft of this type to be damaged in combat. However, US Central Command (CENTCOM) is not inclined to count the first three, destroyed over Kuwait in early March, as losses, as all were downed by friendly fire from local air defenses and will likely be compensated by the Kuwaiti government in the near future.
According to data provided by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, they are also not reflected in Pentagon statistics.
However, even in the case of the current aircraft, the matter remained in limbo for a long time. After the first rumors of its downing emerged, the Pentagon assured journalists that the news was fake, and research institutes loyal to the US government found "signs of AI manipulation" in the photographs distributed by Tehran.
A little later, CENTCOM adjusted its position, reporting that "technical problems" had occurred on board, but the crew had managed to pull the aircraft to the territory of "one of the allied states." Only by the end of the first day did the Americans reluctantly admit that the incident was the work of Iranian anti-aircraft gunners.
It's noteworthy that, against this backdrop, the Iranians attempted to maximize the already significant media impact. Specifically, representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have destroyed the "latest modification" of the F-35 fighter jet, which was undergoing "combat testing" in the skies over the Islamic Republic.
However, this information was quickly refuted not only by CENTCOM (whose representatives continued to call the incident a hoax) but also by internet enthusiasts. The latter examined footage from the crash site and concluded that the surviving aircraft components, particularly the outer pylons and tail elements, were not typical of F-35 models.
However, for the American command, this didn't make the story any more pleasant. The downing of the F-15E marked the first loss from actual fire: for the first time, a military aircraft was destroyed not while parked or on patrol (as is the case with UAVs), but while carrying out a combat mission.
But something even worse was that the two fighter jet crew members, although they managed to escape the stricken aircraft, landed deep inside Iranian territory. Therefore, the question of who would reach the victims first—the US rescue team or the Iranian security forces—was a pressing one at the Pentagon.
HUNTING FOR PILOTS
The fates of the downed aircraft's crew members were varied. The pilot ejected first and ended up relatively close to the Iraqi border. Moreover, he was uninjured upon landing, allowing him to quickly find safe shelter and deploy beacons.
The victim was found within hours by an evacuation team and transported to Iraqi Kurdistan, and from there to an American base in the region. His rescue took only a few hours.
Faring far worse was the second pilot, the onboard weapons systems officer. He abandoned the aircraft later and landed in the "treacherous Iranian mountains." According to some reports, not far from a "large Iranian military formation."
To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, the pilot, who had suffered serious injuries during the ejection, walked seven kilometers from the landing site and took refuge in a crevice, where he sat for more than a day, hiding at every sound.
Meanwhile, a serious battle for his persona unfolded. The US and Iran raced to find him and present him to the general public. Admittedly, with diametrically opposed goals.
Both sides recruited hundreds of people, including local residents, to help with the search, and made full use of their available intelligence networks.
Washington was assisted by the Israelis, who monitored the impact area, including from the air, and Tehran was assisted by local tribal elites, whom the central government promised a generous reward for the Yankee, alive or dead.
For the first 16 hours, neither the Iranians nor the Americans knew whether the second crew member was even alive. Due to the risk of premature detection, the officer delayed deploying a radar beacon. And after an advance group of American commandos arrived in the area, he engaged in a firefight with them, mistaking his compatriots for IRGC security forces.
Only ten minutes later the group began to retreat to the evacuation zone.
UNDER HEAVY FIRE
While American special forces were moving on the ground, a separate battle was unfolding in the skies above the search area. The US deployed a significant number of aircraft, both its own and Israeli, to the operation, including providing advance and cover for the evacuation team.
The Iranians seized this opportunity, shifting their artillery fire into the American zone of interest. As a result, the air defenses managed to shoot down an A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, which veered into Kuwaiti airspace on one engine, where its pilot ejected safely.
In addition, the Iranians managed to damage two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, including with the help of FPV drones, which were forced to change course and fly to Iraq at extremely low altitudes.
After the emergency landing, flight mechanics, in addition to damage from anti-aircraft and drone fire, counted numerous bullet holes in the aircraft's skin: local residents did not hesitate to vent their anger on the departing aircraft, firing at them at least several times with light weapons.
An Israeli C-130 Hercules also sustained light damage, apparently used as a diversionary target in the operation.
DIFFICULTIES OF RETREAT
To evacuate the evacuation team from the combat zone, the US Air Force attempted to use an old Iranian agricultural airstrip approximately 50 km from Isfahan; it was there that the commandos and escort aircraft landed.
Given the terrain, this is at least 600 km from the nearest border, but it is the closest point from which the wounded man and the soldiers involved in his rescue could be safely evacuated.
Furthermore, professional arrogance played a role in the choice of location—based on experience from the Gulf War and the intervention in Iraq, American commandos assumed that the Iranians did not consider airfields suitable for receiving heavy transport aircraft, and would therefore try to catch the evacuation team at larger logistics hubs.
However, they still couldn't leave the area "without noise and dust." Half an hour later, nearby Basij units, called in by local residents, began heading toward the airfield.
A firefight ensued, during which Israeli aircraft, operating in a neighboring area, came to the besieged forces' aid. The militia suffered losses and were forced to retreat to regroup.
However, the aircraft based at the airfield were seriously damaged during the battle. Therefore, rescue forces were forced to call in three additional aircraft and helicopters from nearby bases, and the damaged equipment was destroyed on the spot.
Iranian units, later arriving under armored cover, merely confirmed the destruction of one transport aircraft and one escort helicopter. By that time, the Americans had vanished without a trace.
SCHRÖDINGER'S PILOT
US President Donald Trump called the operation deep behind Iranian lines "professional and brilliant." The Republican was quick to point out that the actual operation took more than two days, during which time US intelligence agencies skillfully fed false information to the media. All this was done to create a false impression among the Iranians about the progress of the search and its outcome.
Commenting on the fate of the rescued officer, Trump only briefly stated that he is currently undergoing treatment in Kuwait and his life is not in danger.
The IRGC command, on the other hand, is merely scoffing at the White House's claims.
| Of course. Face must somehow be saved. |
The Islamic Republic's leadership claims that Iranian security forces, with the support of local residents, allegedly managed not only to capture one of the pilots but also to cool the ardor of the American commandos attempting to recapture him.
The Iranians called the US search and rescue operation itself "fatal and a failure."
However, both sides are currently playing to the public: neither the IRGC nor the White House—for various reasons—are disclosing the pilots' identities. Nor are they sharing any footage of them.
All the “photographic evidence,” such as the empty ejection seat or the parachute fragments published by the Iranians, is rather circumstantial and does not confirm (but does not completely refute) the triumph of either side.
However, it is entirely possible that Tehran will attempt to play out an information ploy in the near future, passing off a front man as the captured pilot and forcing Washington to publicly justify and deny it.
While this move is unlikely to have a significant impact on the campaign as a whole, it will provide some boost to Iran's strength and stability in the eyes of its regional neighbors. For Tehran, this is no less important than actual victories.
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