In this article:
HH-60W with recovered F-15E pilot hit by Iranian fire
While involved in a combat search and rescue (CSAR) mission for the crew of the F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran on Apr. 3, 2026, two US Air Force (USAF) HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters were hit by Iranian fire.
Both the helicopters were able to escape.
The HH-60Ws were taking part in the efforts to find the crew members of the F-15E, a US official confirmed to NBC. All service members aboard the helicopters were reported safe despite coming under fire, the official said.
The helicopter carrying the recovered pilot was hit by small arms fire, wounding crew members of the helicopter on board. The helicopter landed safely. All service members are receiving initial medical treatment and will be transported for further medical care.
One F-15E crew member was rescued by the team, while the fate of the second remains unclear as US forces continue an intensive recovery effort.
As we have already reported, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have shot down a USAF F-35 Lightning II fighter jet flying over central Iran by means of a new air defense system. However, the images showing the wreckage that were published by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency and shared by @Osittechinal on X showed featured a paint scheme that does not appear consistent with what of an F-35A, but with that of an F-15E Strike Eagle.
Specifically, an F-15E belonging to the 494th Fighter Squadron of the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath, UK, as the red coloring visible on the wreckage aligns with tail markings on F-15s from the same squadron.
The F-15E represented the first manned American aircraft downed over Iran during Operation Epic Fury.
CSAR mission for downed F-15E crew members
The F-15E shooting down was later confirmed off the record by US officials familiar with the situation who stated that the Pentagon was scrambling to find the crew before the Iranians.
In fact, a US C-130 Hercules and HH-60 helicopters flying low and at one point refuelling together were featured in a video filmed in Iran. A-10 Warthogs provided top cover for the US air assets involved in the CSAR mission effort.
An A-10 performing the Sandy role for the CSAR mission crashed near the Strait of Hormuz at around the same time that an F-15E was shot down over Iran. The pilot from the A-10 was safely rescued.
The A-10 and F-15E losses follow a USAF E-3G destroyed on Mar. 27, 2026 along with multiple United States service members wounded and multiple KC-135 Stratotankers damaged during the Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base.
On Mar. 23 a USAF F-35A pilot was wounded by shrapnel after his Lightning II was hit over. Other US air assets damaged or lost during Operation Epic Fury, are 5 KC-135s damaged in Iranian Attack on a Saudi Air Base on Mar. 13, one KC-135 lost in Iraq and one damaged that safely landed in Israel on Mar. 12 and three F-15E Strike Eagles shot down by friendly fire of a Kuwaiti F/A-18 on Mar. 2. Several MQ-9 Reaper drones have been lost during Operation Epic Fury too.
Jolly Green II
The HH-60W Jolly Green II replaces the HH-60G Pave Hawk as a dedicated Combat Rescue Helicopter.
Commanders will employ units equipped with the HH-60W to recover isolated personnel from hostile or denied territory, day or night, in adverse weather, and in a variety of threat environments from terrorist to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN). Also, to conduct humanitarian missions, civil search and rescue, disaster relief, medical evacuation, and non-combatant evacuations.
The HH-60W is designed from the ground up with integrated mission systems that improve situational awareness for aircrews conducting the CSAR mission in contested environments. The helicopters feature new multi-function displays to provide pilots with critical flight information.
Modifications to the HH-60W include a digital radar warning receiver; laser, missile, hostile fire warning; integrated chaff and flares; cabin and cockpit armor; externally mounted 7.62 mm and .50 caliber weapons; LINK 16 military tactical data link network; Situational Awareness Data Link; integrated cockpit and cabin displays; advanced communications; Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast; tactical moving map displays; upturned IR-masking exhausts; and efficient wide-chord rotor blades.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
