On April 3, Iranian state media released photographs claiming to show the wreckage of a U.S. fighter jet shot down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. According to later confirmed reports, the remains match those of a U.S. F-15 aircraft.
With this loss, along with the recent downing of an A-10 attack aircraft in a separate incident, the known tally of destroyed U.S. crewed aircraft in the war with Iran has risen to seven.
A review of previous losses reveals several different types of incidents. On March 2, three F-15s were shot down by Kuwaiti air forces in a "friendly fire" incident over Kuwait. All six crew members ejected safely, and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this week that three pilots have returned to action in strikes against Iran.
On March 12, six U.S. crew members were killed when their KC-135 tanker crashed in Iraq. The U.S. military stated that the refueling aircraft was not downed by enemy or friendly fire but was involved in an incident with another aircraft during participation in Operation Epic Fury. According to the same report, the other aircraft landed safely.
On March 27, an E-3 Sentry, a U.S. airborne early warning and control radar aircraft, was destroyed on the runway in an Iranian attack on the Prince Sultan base in Saudi Arabia, as shown in photographs geolocated by CNN.
CNN reported that the attack on the base left at least 10 U.S. soldiers injured, with no fatalities. Sources also indicated that a U.S. tanker was damaged as well.
Additionally, a U.S. F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a U.S. base in the Middle East last month after being hit by what is believed to be Iranian fire, according to two sources familiar with the incident who spoke to CNN.