A reward of $60,000 is being offered to citizens who capture alive the pilot of the American fighter jet that was shot down, and deliver him to police and military forces, according to Iranian media reports. The announcement states: “Military forces have launched a search operation for the American pilot who was shot down earlier today. Dear and honorable citizens of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, if you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to police and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and bonus.”
The shootdown of American fighter jet over Iran
It should be noted that yesterday, Friday April 3rd, an American F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran, marking the first major loss of US aircraft within the country since the start of the Middle East war on February 28th.
The aircraft had a two-person crew: a pilot and a weapons officer in the back seat. One of the two has already been rescued by US special forces, while the search for the second continues, according to information from Axios and CBS News.
Video from the shootdown of the second US fighter jet
Video from the shootdown of a second aircraft of the United States in the Persian Gulf was published by Iranian news agencies. According to information cited by Reuters, the A-10 Warthog was hit on Friday April 3rd by Iranian fire and crashed in Kuwait, while the pilot managed to use the ejection seat, as reported by two American officials.
According to reports, the aircraft was participating in the search and rescue operation for the crew of the F-15 that was shot down earlier and came under fire from Iran, with one pilot still missing. These incidents demonstrate the ongoing dangers faced by American and Israeli military aircraft flying in Iranian airspace, despite claims by US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that American forces have complete control of Iranian skies.
