In April, Iran managed to shoot down the F-15 fighter jet, using tactics using a swarm of drones. Iranian forces have deployed drones in the area of operations of American aviation, taking advantage of the experience gained during the war in Ukraine. This is reported by The New York Times, citing an unnamed senior representative of the US armed forces.
Iran has shot down an American F-15E fighter jet over the southern part of the country using a portable anti-aircraft missile system. Both crew members - the pilot and the weapons operator - have ejected. The pilot was rescued shortly after, while the weapons operator hid from the Iranians for almost two days until US special operations forces rescued him.
According to the newspaper's sources, Iran deployed a swarm of drones in the area where the US fighters entered. In an interview with Pentagon officials, the crew said that the plane's warning and protection system detected the threat only about 0.5 seconds before an Iranian missile hit the board.
The US military concluded that the drones had transmitted the fighter's GPS coordinates, speed and direction of movement to Iranian commanders, which helped Iran direct its weapons at the plane, the source said.
Shortly after the fighter jet crash, US President Donald Trump declared a “cessation” of hostilities. According to two US military officials, it took time to adjust to Iran's new tactics.
Earlier, CNN reported that the pilot of a US F-15 fighter jet rescued by special forces said he saw multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air and moving as one in a formation resembling a jellyfish. CNN noted that if the pilot had indeed seen what he described - a formation moving in unison - it would be a "alarming breakthrough in Iranian drone technology". Another source for the channel noted that the pilot described what he saw as a "minefield of drones" in the air.