US F-15E jet confirmed shot down over Iran as Tehran releases wreckage images

Downing of fighter plane – the first shot down over Iran since start of war – prompts frantic US rescue effort

Aviation experts said the wreckage pictured was in fact from a F-15E from the US air force’s 494th squadron. File picture: Andrew Parsons

A US F-15E fighter has been shot down over Iran, prompting a frantic US search and rescue effort for its two-strong crew, in the first such incident since the start of the war.

Images of a tail fin and other debris were released by Iranian state media early on Friday accompanied by an initial claim that an advanced US F-35 and been hit by a new air defence system over central Iran and the pilot probably killed.