The Washington Post reports:

Two U.S. military aircraft were shot down in separate incidents Friday while conducting combat operations against Iran, setting off a frantic search-and-rescue effort that remains ongoing for one missing crew member, U.S. officials said.

The F-15E fighter jet and the A-10 attack plane both were hit by incoming fire, U.S. officials said. One of two crew members aboard the F-15, which crashed inside Iran, was rescued, though their condition was not immediately clear, the officials said. The A-10 pilot navigated the damaged plane to Kuwaiti airspace before ejecting and was subsequently rescued, they added.

Two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters involved in the search-and-rescue effort also were hit by Iranian fire that injured U.S. personnel on board, though both aircraft have safely returned to their base, the officials said.

The developments, confirmed by three U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an evolving situation, belied earlier assertions by the Trump administration that U.S. forces had obtained air superiority over Iran and raised immediate questions about how much of the country’s arsenal remained after a month of targeted strikes on the regime’s weapons facilities.

Spokespeople for the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.

The search-and-rescue effort for the missing F-15 crew member marked the most perilous moment yet for U.S. troops in the war, putting the missing airman and the rescuers more directly in the line of Iranian fire. It is the first known instance of a crewed American aircraft being brought down inside hostile territory since the conflict began.

Friday’s developments represent a potential political liability for President Donald Trump, who is facing strong pushback from opponents of the Iran war — including among some of his supporters, who elected him to a second term based, in part, on his campaign promises to avoid costly military entanglements. In a prime-time address this week, the president sought to defend his increasingly unpopular decision to start the conflict while asserting that the operation is “nearing completion.” It was not immediately clear how Friday’s developments could affect that announced timeline.

Iranian television broadcast a statement from local merchants in western Iran offering a reward for recovery of the downed crew members. Another broadcast called on residents to “target” any Americans they found. IRIB, the state broadcaster, said on social media that “many people” had gone to the crash site and that the Iranian military “called on the people NOT TO LET anyone mistreat the pilot.” [Continue reading…]