A recent report claims that a pilot of a US F-15E strike aircraft shot down over Iran in April had previously survived another aircraft downing just weeks earlier, marking an exceptionally rare case in modern US Air Force history.
According to the report, published by High Side and citing current and former US Air Force officials, the same pilot was involved in two separate incidents during the same conflict period. The first occurred in late February, when an F-15E was reportedly brought down in a friendly-fire incident involving a Kuwaiti F/A-18 aircraft.
The second incident allegedly took place on April 3, when the pilot’s aircraft was struck by an Iranian missile during operations in the region. Officials cited in the report suggest this may be the first known case since the Vietnam era in which a US fixed-wing pilot was shot down twice within the same conflict.
The weapons officer aboard the aircraft was reportedly injured during the April ejection, with sources stating that his parachute did not fully deploy, causing further harm upon landing.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that two service members were recovered after an F-15E was downed by a shoulder-fired missile on April 2. However, it did not directly confirm the details of the earlier incident described in the report.
The broader regional conflict has intensified following US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, prompting retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region and heightened tensions around key maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire briefly took effect in April but failed to produce a lasting resolution.
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