\n<\/p>\n
A US F-15E fighter has been shot down over Iran<\/a>, prompting a frantic US search and rescue effort for its two-strong crew, in the first such incident since the start of the war.<\/p>\n Iranian state media released images<\/a> of a tail fin and other debris early on Friday accompanied by an initial claim that a US F-35 had been hit by a new air defence system over central Iran and the pilot probably killed.<\/p>\n Aviation experts said the wreckage pictured was in fact from a F-15E, from the US air force\u2019s 494th squadron, based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK, though it could not at first be confirmed when and where the pictures were taken.<\/p>\n US officials familiar with the situation later confirmed off the record that an F-15E had been brought down and the Pentagon was scrambling to find the crew. There was no official comment from the US military<\/a> about the incident.<\/p>\n Subsequent footage filmed in Iran showed a US C-130 Hercules and HH-60 Pavehawk helicopters flying low and at one point refuelling together, amid fresh Iranian speculation that the plane crew may have ejected and survived.<\/p>\n