BREAKING: US Fighter Jet Downed Over Iran, Reports Say

Iran is claiming it just knocked a U.S. fighter jet out of the sky, and video circulating online appears to show the wreckage of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle.

State-linked Iranian channels released footage they say shows the debris from a U.S. Air Force jet brought down over Iranian territory. Early reports out of Tehran initially identified the aircraft as an F-35, but a closer look at the wreckage suggests otherwise.

Pieces of the airframe visible in the video, including parts of the fuselage and external mounting points, line up with the design of an F-15E, not the stealth profile of an F-35.

Reports from The New York Times and Axios later backed up the claim that a U.S. aircraft had been downed, though key details remain murky.

Iranian state media

If confirmed, it would mark the first known combat loss of a crewed U.S. Air Force aircraft over Iran since the war began.

The footage shows scattered debris consistent with a Strike Eagle, a twin-engine jet built for long-range strike missions and air-to-air combat. The F-15E is one of the Air Force’s go-to platforms for hitting heavily defended targets while still being able to engage enemy aircraft.

Iranian state media

Iran has not said how the jet was brought down, and officials have released no information about the crew’s condition or whereabouts.

There has also been no immediate public confirmation from the Pentagon or the U.S. Air Force. That leaves major questions unanswered, including where exactly the incident happened and what mission the aircraft was flying.

The jet is believed to be assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron, known as the “Panthers,” one of the Air Force’s front-line strike units. The squadron routinely flies the F-15E Strike Eagle, a workhorse platform designed for deep strikes against hardened targets.

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