Two U.S. military aircraft were shot down within a day, and Iranian media reports that the U.S. side's rescue attempt for the pilots was unsuccessful.

Within a day, the U.S. military lost two fighter jets in succession. The rescue operation was thwarted, and ceasefire negotiations stalled—this Middle East war, now approaching nearly five weeks in duration, is still escalating.

On April 3, local time, the U.S. military suffered two back-to-back losses of fighter jets in and around Iranian waters. According to CCTV News, one F-15E fighter was shot down inside Iran, and the other A-10 attack aircraft crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. This is the first known time since the U.S. and Israel launched a military action against Iran on February 28 that a U.S. aircraft has crashed inside Iran.

The U.S. side immediately launched a search-and-rescue effort. According to CCTV News, the U.S. deployed “Black Hawk” helicopters and C-130 transport aircraft to carry out rescue operations inside Iran. However, one helicopter was attacked by Iran’s air-defense system and was forced to withdraw, and the rescue mission was declared a failure. Iranian media said that after the F-15E pilot parachuted, he landed inside Iran and was “possibly” taken prisoner by Iranian forces.

Meanwhile, ceasefire mediation between Iran and the U.S. has fallen into an impasse. Iran refused to meet with the U.S. side in Islamabad, and cited continued heavy firepower strikes on the battlefield as a “live response” to the U.S.’s 48-hour ceasefire proposal. Trump, meanwhile, said that the fact that U.S. aircraft were shot down would not affect negotiations with Iran.

If a U.S. pilot is captured, it could become an important turning point in this war. For example, in the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident in Somalia, two U.S. helicopters were shot down and one pilot was captured, directly leading the United States to end its operation and withdraw all forces.

Iran releases footage of the moment it hit a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft video screenshot

F-15E shot down inside Iran: rescue fails, pilot’s whereabouts unknown, “possibly captured”

According to CCTV News, Iranian sources said that after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down an American advanced fighter earlier that day, the pilot parachuted and landed inside Iran, and there was information indicating that the pilot “may” have been taken prisoner by Iranian forces.

Iranian media released photos showing wreckage from an ejection seat appearing near the crash site.

NR Jenzen-Jones, director of the Armament Research Services intelligence and consulting organization, said the wreckage in the photos “can be established as the U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle,” but that existing evidence is insufficient to confirm whether the aircraft was shot down or crashed.

Iran located the crash site in the southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. According to CCTV News, the province’s governor urged residents in remote areas to actively look for surviving pilots, adding that “individuals or groups that successfully capture or kill enemy personnel will receive a special commendation from the provincial government.” The Iranian Tasnim news agency also called on local residents to “carry weapons” to patrol in mountainous areas and on plains, to deal with any possible incoming U.S. rescue team. In addition, the report indicates that the American side also believes the pilot is still alive and had tried to rescue him from inside Iran.

According to Xinhua News Agency, citing media reports, the U.S. military deployed search-and-rescue aircraft and helicopters into Iran. One surviving pilot has been rescued and is receiving treatment, while the other pilot’s whereabouts are unknown, and the search-and-rescue operation is still ongoing.

A-10 attack aircraft crashes; Tehran hit by large-scale airstrikes

According to CCTV News, on April 3, two U.S. officials confirmed that a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, and there was only one pilot onboard, who has been rescued.

Iran’s military public relations department later reported that Iran’s national integrated air defense network, through tracking and monitoring, successfully shot down the aircraft, saying it belonged to an “aggressive hostile force.”

On the same day, Tehran was hit by large-scale airstrikes. The U.S. and Israel carried out airstrikes on multiple locations inside Iran, including Shahid Beheshti University in the capital Tehran and Mehrabad Airport. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that on that day it carried out the 93rd wave of attacks under the codename “True Promise-4,” a large-scale military operation.

A moment of turning point? U.S. pilots captured in history: from Somalia to Afghanistan

There is precedent for U.S. pilots being captured. Historically, incidents involving the capture of U.S. personnel have often had far-reaching effects on the direction of the war, and sometimes even directly changed the outcome of the entire military operation.

According to the British Financial Times, the 1993 Somalia incident was one of the most representative cases. That year, two U.S. “Black Hawk” helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu, and a U.S. “Black Hawk” pilot was taken prisoner. The incident effectively marked the end of the United States’ months-long military operation, ultimately leading to a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Somalia.

Another widely known case occurred in Afghanistan. In 2009, after U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl left his post without authorization, he was captured by the Taliban. After that, the U.S. military launched a large-scale search operation. Five years later, the Obama administration exchanged Bergdahl for the release of five senior Taliban prisoners.

Report analysis pointed out that any capture by Iran of U.S. personnel would become the war’s “key turning point,” giving Iran “potentially important leverage.”

In addition, the report also cites another incident in the current conflict: On March 19, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed that its air-defense system had hit a U.S. F-35 fighter that flew through the airspace over central Iran, causing damage to the aircraft. The U.S. military later said that after a combat mission involving Iran, the aircraft made an emergency landing at a location not disclosed.

CCTV News video screenshot

Iran’s parliamentary speaker posts mocking message about U.S. aircraft shot down

According to Xinhua News Agency, Iran’s Islamic Parliamentary speaker Kalibaf posted on social media on the 3rd, mocking the fact that an American fighter was shot down by Iran.

Kalibaf said that after the enemy claimed that it had “defeated Iran 37 times in a row,” this war launched by the United States and Israel—“clever in its own mind but with no strategy whatsoever”—has now been downgraded from seeking “regime change” to “Hey! Who can find our pilot?”

According to CCTV News, on April 1, the U.S. side proposed to Iran through a friendly country a temporary ceasefire lasting 48 hours. Iran assessed that the U.S. had previously misjudged Iran’s military capabilities, which led to the situation escalating and left the U.S. military in serious difficulties in the region; therefore it made the proposal. Iran did not respond in writing, but instead “made a live response by continuing heavy firepower strikes on the battlefield,” and officially informed the mediator that it would not meet with U.S. officials in Islamabad, explicitly stating that the U.S. side’s ceasefire demands were “unacceptable.”

According to Xinhua News Agency, on the 3rd, during a phone interview with NBC, Trump said that the shooting down of U.S. fighter jets would “not affect negotiations with Iran.” The White House said the same day that Trump had received a briefing on the crash of the F-15E, and the search-and-rescue operation was still ongoing.

However, Trump has recently sent mixed signals: on the one hand, he claims the United States has “completely defeated Iran,” and on the other, he threatens that if no agreement is reached within two to three weeks, it will “strike every power plant in Iran.” Iranian leadership, meanwhile, said that at present there is simply no negotiation to end the conflict.

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