Iran’s downing of two U.S. warplanes is the most striking evidence yet that, despite enormous military losses, Tehran can still significantly raise the cost of continuing the conflict for the U.S. and Israel.
The shootdowns were the most successful demonstration of Iran’s military strategy to inflict tactical defeats on the U.S. and its allies in hopes not of winning militarily, but of surviving and sapping their will to continue the fight.
The F-15E jet fighter and A-10 attack plane were the first U.S. or Israeli aircraft to be shot down in thousands of sorties flown in Iranian airspace. A massive search and rescue effort extricated one crew member but at least one additional crew member was unaccounted for.
Crazy videos of USAF HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk search and rescue (SAR) aircraft over south-western Iran 🇮🇷
This is another proof of the air-domination imposed by USAF over Iran. This mission is meant to recover the crew of a downed F15 aircraft.
Since the war… pic.twitter.com/poQTLJcfRG
— Clément Molin (@clement_molin) April 3, 2026
