Pilot of fighter jet downed over Iran previously shot down in Kuwaiti incident
Sources say that the fighter pilot who was shot down due to Iran was shot down before in the incident in Kuwait 01:23
The pilot of the F-15E fighter jet shot down over Iran was also flying one of the jets shot down at the beginning of the war. Kuwait friendly fireTwo people familiar with the events told CBS News:
30 days after ejecting safely during a friendly fire incident, the pilot was on a mission over Iran. jet was hit by a surface-to-air missiletriggering a daring rescue operation.
The double shooting of the pilot was first reported by national security reporter Sean Naylor on Substack. High Side.
In the early days of the war, the pilot was among six aircrew members safely evacuated after three F-15E Strike Eagles were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses (specifically, a Kuwaiti fighter jet) in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait. Remarkably, just a few weeks later, the pilot had to eject again when the F-15E they were flying was shot down by an Iranian missile on April 3.
CBS News previously reported It was stated that the seriously injured pilot was rescued after a few hours, and the second crew member was rescued after hiding for about two days.
“The courage shown by both the pilot and the weapons system officer while in isolation and their escape from the enemy cannot be overstated,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a White House briefing in April after the two were rescued.
“Their courage and tenacity in battle is a direct result of their absolute trust in our rescue forces, their training, and their desire to survive and return,” Caine said.
The Pentagon referred questions to US Central Command, but they also declined to comment.
“This is an extremely unusual coincidence,” said Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and the lead attack planner for Operation Desert Storm’s air campaign during the 1990-1991 Gulf War.
Deptula told CBS News in a phone interview that he doesn’t think a pilot has been shot down in separate incidents during the same campaign, potentially since the Vietnam War.
“This is like being struck by lightning twice,” Deptula said.
