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aircraft worldwide. The Russian Air Force has lost
several Beriev A-50 aircraft in Ukraine. Two were
shot down by Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles
and several others were hit and damaged on the
ground.
Turning to Ukraine, it has sent its specialists
to several countries in the Persian Gulf region,
where they have begun providing assistance with
drone defence. According to the latest reports,
they are also present at Prince Sultan Air Base,
where they are helping the Americans to set up
a system for detecting and destroying drones.
In subsequent Iranian attacks, air bases in
other countries in the region were also hit. In
the early days of the conflict, the British Akrotiri
base in Cyprus was also attacked, but it is unclear
what damage was caused. Several civilian
aircraft were damaged at Dubai International
Airport, including a giant Emirates Airbus A380.
On 15 March, an Italian Air Force base in
Kuwait was struck. One Italian MQ-9 drone was
destroyed and two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter
jets were damaged in the attack.
The attacks were not just carried out by long-
range drones from Iran. Pro-Iranian militias
in Iraq also used small FPV drones against
US bases. In Baghdad, a US UH-60 Black Hawk
helicopter was hit in this way on 23 March, and an
Iraqi Air Force Antonov An-32 was damaged on
30 March. On 3 April, CH-47 Chinook and CH-53E
Super Stallion helicopters were destroyed on the
ground in Kuwait.
Downed American aircraft
On 19 March, the pilot of a US F-35 fighter jet
discovered that Iran’s air defence capabilities
were still very much intact. The aircraft was hit
by a surface-to-air missile while on a combat
mission over Iran. Consequently, the pilot was
forced to abandon the mission and perform an
emergency landing at an undisclosed location
in the region. According to US media reports,
the landing was hard and the aircraft will not
return to service any time soon, if at all. The pilot
sustained shrapnel wounds but was in a stable
condition. Iranian news agencies subsequently
released a video showing the silhouette of the
F-35 being targeted, followed by an anti-aircraft
missile exploding. Traces of smoke or leaking
fuel appeared behind the F-35 immediately
afterwards. This is the first known combat loss
of an F-35.
Despite the warning that the Iranian air
defence system was still active, the F-15E crew
did not exercise sufficient caution and their
aircraft was shot down over Iranian territory on
3 April. Both crew members ejected, prompting
the most epic operation of the entire war. Rescue
teams entered Iranian airspace in C-130 aircraft
and UH-60 helicopters. The pilot was located
and rescued on the same day. Two Black Hawk
helicopters were hit by ground fire during the
operation and several people on board were
injured. However, both helicopters managed to
return to base. An A-10 attack aircraft was shot
down by Iranian fire while providing cover for the
rescue operation. The pilot reached the Strait of
Hormuz before ejecting and being rescued after
spending some time in the water.
The second member of the F-15E crew, a colonel
and weapons operator, however, remained in Iran.
He found himself in a remote, sparsely populated
mountain valley. Despite sustaining injuries
when the plane was shot down, he climbed to
a 2,000-metre-high mountain ridge to hide.
The US selected a location in the Iranian valley
where they established a temporary base.
Special forces were dispatched there in two
MC-130 aircraft, which eventually located the
colonel and evacuated him on 5 April. Local
Iranian militias from mountain villages also
searched for the American pilot, but there was no
contact with the special forces.
However, the two C-130 Hercules aircraft
that had originally flown them in were damaged,
A CH-47 destroyed on the ground in Kuwait. Photo from open sources
Iranians released footage of a U.S. F-35 being hit. Photo from open sources
MC-130 aircraft and HH-60 helicopters took part in the search and rescue operation following
the downing of the F-15E. Photo: 58th Special Operations Wing
OPERATION EPIC FURY
INFO Eduard
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May 2026