Gambiaj.com – (WASHINGTON, United States) – Iran has shot down a U.S. fighter jet during the ongoing conflict with Washington, marking the first time in more than two decades that an American combat aircraft has been downed by enemy fire and delivering a significant symbolic setback to the United States’ military dominance in modern wars.
According to U.S. officials, Iranian forces brought down an F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday during combat operations over Iran.
One service member was rescued while search efforts were still underway for a second crew member. Iranian state media also reported that an A-10 attack aircraft crashed after being struck by Iranian air defenses.
The incident comes five weeks after the United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure, an operation backed by President Donald Trump, who had recently claimed Iran’s military capabilities had been “completely decimated.”
However, Iran’s ability to shoot down an advanced U.S. fighter jet underscores that the country retains the capacity to retaliate despite sustained bombardment.
Military analysts say the downing of the aircraft represents an exceptionally rare event for the U.S. military. The last American fighter jet destroyed in combat by hostile fire was an A-10 Thunderbolt II during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when an Iraqi surface-to-air missile struck the aircraft over Baghdad.
Retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Houston Cantwell said the long gap without such losses reflects the type of conflicts the United States has fought in recent decades.
“For the past 20 years the U.S. was largely fighting insurgent groups that lacked sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons,” Cantwell said. “The fact that this hasn’t happened until now is an absolute miracle.”
Experts say Iran likely used a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile to hit the F-15E, a weapon that is difficult to detect and particularly dangerous when aircraft operate at lower altitudes.
According to Behnam Ben Taleblu, the strike highlights that even a weakened Iranian military remains capable of inflicting damage.
“A disabled air defense system is not a destroyed air defense system,” he said, noting that Tehran continues to resist despite heavy airstrikes.
U.S. Central Command says American forces have flown more than 13,000 missions in the campaign and struck over 12,300 targets across Iran. Despite those operations, Tehran has continued launching missile and drone strikes across the region, fueling tensions and economic uncertainty.
Defense analyst Mark Cancian said the loss is unlikely to alter the overall military balance but carries political significance.
“Americans have become accustomed to fighting wars with very few casualties,” Cancian said. “For a public used to near-bloodless wars, even a single loss can have a major impact.”
The incident has also highlighted the risks faced by U.S. pilots flying combat missions in heavily defended airspace.
Aviators are trained to evade incoming missiles and to survive ejection if their aircraft is hit, including procedures to transmit their location for rescue teams while avoiding interception by enemy forces.
While the United States retains overwhelming airpower, Iran’s successful strike represents one of the few instances in the past two decades where a state adversary has managed to shoot down a U.S. fighter jet in active combat, a reminder that even a battered military can still challenge American air superiority.
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