US warplane downed over Iran, 1 rescued: US media

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft takes off for a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location March 9. U.S. Air Force/Handout via Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — A U.S. warplane has gone down over Iran and U.S. forces have rescued one of the crew, major U.S. media outlets reported Friday after Iranian media aired footage of aircraft wreckage.

Axios and CBS News, citing unidentified sources, reported that one of the two crew on the plane had already been rescued by U.S. special forces but that the search was ongoing for the second crew member.

According to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the plane was an F-15E fighter, which is crewed by a pilot and a weapons-systems officer in the back seat.

CNN also said that analysis of what Iranian media said were photos of the wreckage showed an F-15, rather than an F-35 stealth fighter, as claimed in some Iranian reports.

U.S. media reported that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation.

However, there was no immediate on-the-record response from the White House or Pentagon to requests for comment.

U.S. media reported that a search-and-rescue operation was underway by specialized U.S. forces, following what would be the first known loss of a jet inside Iran since Trump ordered the war.

Photos and video circulating on social media and Iranian news outlets were cited by major U.S. media outlets as showing U.S. helicopters and other aircraft flying at low altitude over the presumed site of the downed fighter jet.