As U.S. forces continue a search-and-rescue operation for one of the crew members of the F-15 shot down over Iran on Friday, the American aviator, if he survived the hit, is likely carrying out the procedure known in the US Air Force as SERE, for survival, evasion, resistance and escape.
According to Fox News, U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire during the rescue mission for the first crew member, and the search for the second is continuing.
Two Black Hawk helicopters were damaged during the rescue mission for the F-15 crew, and one of them was forced to cross into Iraq, NBC reported.
The continuing rescue operation is expected to face difficult conditions, including hostile terrain, antiaircraft fire and shifting weather conditions in the Iranian desert.
Meanwhile, a U.S. A-10 “Warthog” attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf region about an hour after the F-15 was shot down, The New York Times reported, citing two US officials.
According to the report, the pilot was rescued safely.
Officials declined to provide further details about the circumstances of the A-10 crash or its exact location.
Since Feb. 28, the U.S. Air Force has lost several aircraft. On March 2, three F-15s were shot down over Kuwait by friendly fire from a Kuwaiti aircraft, with no casualties among the crew, who managed to eject.
In addition, a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq after colliding with another refueling plane, killing all six crew members. On March 19, an F-35 was hit over Iran and was forced to make an emergency landing at a U.S. base in the region.
Also, on March 13, five more KC-135 refueling aircraft were damaged in an Iranian drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. On March 27, an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control (AWACS) aircraft was damaged in another attack on the same base.
During the 1991 Gulf War, over 43 days of fighting, the coalition lost 75 aircraft, including 27 planes and 15 helicopters lost by the U.S. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, only three US aircraft were shot down, one of them by friendly fire.
A version of this article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
