US Fighter Jets Are First Shot Down by Enemy Fire Since 2003

Iran shooting down two American military aircraft marks an exceedingly rare assault for the US that has not happened in more than 20 years and shows the Islamic Republic's continued ability to hit back despite President Trump asserting it has been "completely decimated," the AP reports. The attacks came five weeks after US and Israeli strikes first pounded Iran, with Trump saying earlier this week that Tehran's "ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed." Iran shot down a US F15-E Strike Eagle fighter jet Friday, with one service member getting rescued and the search still underway for a second, US officials say. Iranian state media also said a US A-10 attack aircraft crashed after being hit by Iranian defense forces.

The last time a US fighter jet was shot down in combat was an A-10 Thunderbolt II during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former F-16 fighter pilot. But, he said, that's because the US had largely been fighting insurgents who didn't have the same anti-aircraft capabilities. The fact that there have not been more fighter jets lost in Iran, Cantwell said, is a testament to the capabilities of US forces. "The fact that this hasn't happened until now is an absolute miracle," said Cantwell, who served four combat tours and is now a senior resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. "We're flying combat missions here, they are being shot at every day."

US Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that American forces have flown more than 13,000 missions in the Iran war while striking more than 12,300 targets. American planes have been flying missions at lower altitudes, which makes them more vulnerable to Iran's missiles, says Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran program senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank. It's possible that Iran fired at the F-15 with a surface-to-air missile, but it's more likely that a portable, shoulder-fired missile was used, he said. Those are much harder to detect and reflect how Iran is "weak but still lethal."

Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defense adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed that a shoulder-fired missile was likely used against the fighter jet. Nonetheless, the American air war against Iran has been a "tremendous success" so far, he said. To put things in perspective, he said the loss rate for American warplanes flying over Germany during World War II was 3% at one point, which would equal about 350 warplanes in the US war against Iran. "But then there's the political side — you have a American public that is accustomed to fighting bloodless wars," Cancian said. "Then a large part of the country doesn't support the war. So to them, any loss is unacceptable."