- The U.S. Air Force appears to have launched a combat search-and-rescue mission over Iran after two crew members reportedly ejected from a crashed F-15.
- HC-130J and HH-60W rescue aircraft, supported by F-35 fighters and MQ-9 drones, were reportedly seen securing the suspected recovery area.
The United States Air Force appears to have launched a combat search-and-rescue mission over Iran after the crew of a U.S. F-15 reportedly ejected following a crash.
Current reporting indicates that two crew members successfully ejected, but their exact location had not been determined at the time of publication. That uncertainty appears to have triggered a concentrated aerial search over the suspected crash area, with multiple U.S. aircraft reportedly operating in support of the mission.
Aircraft seen over the area reportedly included an HC-130J Combat King II, the Air Force’s dedicated personnel recovery support aircraft. The plane was reportedly accompanied by what appeared to be two HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters, a type specifically used for combat rescue missions involving downed aircrew.
Other aircraft were also reportedly active in the same airspace. These included F-35 fighters and MQ-9 drones, which appeared to be securing the likely search zone and providing overwatch while rescue teams worked to locate the two crew members.
The mix of aircraft is consistent with a high-priority personnel recovery mission. In such operations, the HC-130J typically serves as an airborne command-and-support platform, while the HH-60W helicopters are used to recover isolated personnel. Fighter aircraft and drones are commonly used to monitor the surrounding area and keep hostile forces away from the suspected recovery site.
The reported presence of F-35s and MQ-9s also points to an effort to maintain continuous surveillance over the area where the crew may have landed after ejecting.
The situation appears to have become more urgent after local Iranian television reportedly broadcast a message offering a reward for the capture of a U.S. pilot. The reported statement read: “Anyone who captures the U.S. pilot alive will receive a valuable reward.”
The precise crash location and the exact ejection zone remain unconfirmed in the information currently available. The condition of the two crew members is also unknown beyond reports that both were able to eject successfully.
Combat search-and-rescue missions of this kind are among the most sensitive operations carried out by the U.S. military. The priority is to locate isolated personnel quickly, establish control over the surrounding area, and extract them before they can be captured or the crash site can be exploited.
The use of dedicated rescue assets suggests that U.S. forces are treating the incident as an active recovery mission rather than a routine search following an aircraft loss.