Another F15 downed, this time over Western Iran - crew rescued by Israeli and US forces

[Prairie Gates]

Last edited Thu Mar 5, 2026, 09:23 AM - Edit history (1)

This is being reported in the Israeli and Euro media - no word yet from US sources.

Here's RAI News, qualifying that it is a media source and not official:

Un caccia F-15 americano e' precipitato nell'ovest dell'Iran e i piloti sono stati tratti in salvo da militari Usa e israeliane. A riferirlo e' stato Canale 14.

"L'equipaggio e' riuscito ad abbandonare l'aereo e a salvarsi in un'operazione complessa e congiunta delle forze israeliane e americane", si legge sul sito del media israeliano.

Link

My translation: An American F15 warplane went down in western Iran and the pilots were rescued by US and Israeli military, according to Channel 14 (Israeli source). "The crew managed to eject from the plane and were rescued in a complex joint operation by Israeli and American forces," according to the Israeli media website.

On Edit: CENTCOM currently denying this completely, per post below.

[SamuelTheThird]

1. Thought we had 'total' control of the skies

[boston bean]

2. What US forces are in Iran?

[Prairie Gates]

3. I'm only speculating, but I would guess that they have forces ready to fly pilot rescue

stationed in Eastern Iraq. Sounds like it would be a helicopter rescue of downed pilots. I don't doubt that they have crews on standby to prevent pilot capture, and it would be easier if the plane made it significantly west before they ditched.

Just a guess, though.

[VMA131Marine]

11. Yes, they typically have search and rescue on standby

when combat aircraft are on operations.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Look at you. Nice catch.

[Emrys]

4. FWIW, CENTCOM is currently denying this. n/t

[Prairie Gates]

5. I have not posted any of the updates from Iranian media because I mostly don't believe them

But this is coming from an Israeli source that is celebrating a rescue operation. Put bluntly, I think this is true. Moreover, I would really start to question what CENTCOM is telling us if they don't explain further. Do you have a link to the denial? I can't find it.

Thanks!

It's important that we get full information.

[Emrys]

7. I wasn't trying to do anything other than update with CENTCOM's denial, so no worries

They posted that denial on Twitter an hour or so ago. It's quite cryptic (it's not exactly a chatty account at the best of times), but categorical:

U.S. Central Command
@CENTCOM

🚫 Rumors circulating on social media of a U.S. F-15E crash in Iran early Wednesday are baseless and NOT TRUE.

I dont know how that timescale ties in with the reports you've seen.

If it ends up they're fibbing, they're going to develop a hell of a credibility problem. If it ends up the Israelis are fibbing, well ...

One debunking account I trust is BBC Verify's Shayan Sardarizadeh: https://x.com/Shayan86

He has nothing on this yet, and I haven't found any of the usual MSM sites or OSINT accounts I trust carrying it either as fact or to debunk it, but I'm trying to work at the moment!

If you click through, you'll see Sardarizadeh's been exposing a number of fakes to do with the Iran conflict, usually either AI or video game captures.

[Prairie Gates]

9. I was being sincere about thanking you for the info!

[Emrys]

10. Understood! n/t

[Prairie Gates]

12. Just to comment on their denial, it does seem very definitive

But, unlike everything else they've denied, I really don't believe them.

I want to believe that they wouldn't lie about it outright, but I can also see them coming out and saying "We were protecting extraction methods" or something like that. Hegseth pretty much said in the first conference that DoD will tell the media whatever they want whenever they want.

It's extremely troubling if CENTCOM is outright lying about damage and casualties.

[Emrys]

13. Being charitable to a fault, I can accept there are going to be operational reasons for withholding information

But for CENTCOM to put out that statement (and since Trump set the standard, I guess we have to accept Twitter as an official governmental source) out of the blue makes me think they're not lying, but who knows? There are all sorts of rumours flying around online, and to single that particular one out for their attention if they are hiding something would seem odd.

We'll no doubt find out soon enough.

Anyway, episodes like this can be useful in suggesting what sources may or may not be trustworthy in future.

[Prairie Gates]

14. Also extremely odd for pro-IDF, uber-conservative Channel 14 to tout an IDF rescue mission

if it absolutely didn't happen.

That's my issue here.

I think they got out over their skis and reported something that they shouldn't have, but I suspect they did so based on good sources.

[Emile]

6. We have money for F15 warplanes, but

not for healthcare.