The US Air Force has lost at least seven manned aircraft since the start of its war with Iran, CNN reported on Saturday.
The downing of two US fighter jets in a single day on Friday brought the total number of lost manned aircraft to seven, according to the report. The losses included a US Air Force F-15 and an A-10. One crew member from the F-15 has been rescued, while a second remains missing.
The seven lost aircraft include several different types. On March 2, three F-15s were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait. All six crew members ejected safely and have since returned to flying missions, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
On March 12, six US personnel were killed when a KC-135 refueling tanker crashed in Iraq. The US military said the aircraft was involved in an incident with another aircraft during Operation Epic Fury, the name for the US offensive on Iran that began on Feb. 28.
On March 27, an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft was reportedly destroyed while on the ground during an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The attack injured at least 10 US service members, though no deaths were reported, sources said.
In a separate incident last month, a US F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing at a US base in the Middle East after being hit by what is believed to be Iranian fire, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the situation.
The latest downings on Friday marked the first known case of a US warplane being shot down inside Iranian territory. The F-15 crashed in Iran‘s southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, near the border with Iraq, according to local authorities.
US rescue helicopters, including a UH-60 Black Hawk, were also struck during search-and-rescue operations for the jets. The A-10 Warthog reportedly managed to reach Kuwaiti airspace, where the lone pilot ejected and escaped.
Iran‘s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the aircraft was hit by advanced air defense systems operated by its aerospace division. Iranian authorities have closed off the area where the pilot is believed to have gone down, according to the New York Times. A reward of 10 billion tomans, about 6,600 US dollars, has been set to find the pilot, Iranian news outlets reported.
The Pentagon has confirmed the loss of the F-15 and the recovery of one pilot, while the second remains missing. US Central Command has not issued an official statement on the incidents.
President Donald Trump declined to comment on the rescue effort in a brief phone interview with NBC News and said the incident would not affect negotiations with Iran.
The war began on Feb. 28 after the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Pentagon data shows at least 365 US service members have been wounded and 13 have been killed in the Iran war so far. Of the wounded, 247 were Army soldiers, 63 were Navy sailors, 36 were Air Force airmen and 19 were Marines, according to Pentagon data.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.