US media reported that the sole pilot on board was safely rescued, with Tehran claiming the shootdown of the A-10 as the second successful strike on a US aircraft within 24 hours.
An American A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter jet crashed into the waters of the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by Iranian fire on Friday night.
A US official confirmed to The Washington Post that the A-10, also known as a "Warthog," was hit by incoming fire and was the second US fighter jet to be downed in one day. Reports of the A-10 crash emerged shortly after a US F-15 jet was shot down over Iranian territory.
According to The Washington Post, the pilot of the A-10 navigated the damaged plane to Kuwaiti airspace, ejected, and was rescued.
Reports from Iran's state media and the Tasnim news agency, quoting Iran’s military public relations unit, said that the country's air defense systems intercepted and struck the American attack jet. Tehran was quick to boast about the incident, claiming it was the second successful hit on a US military aircraft within 24 hours.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II 'Warthog'
The A-10 jet, originally designed for close air support against ground targets, is one of the US Air Force’s oldest and most recognizable aircraft, its loss representing a significant blow to both its image and operational capabilities.
The crash near the Strait of Hormuz comes at a particularly problematic time for the US military, having occurred almost simultaneously with the downing of an F-15E fighter jet over Iranian territory.
While the pilot was rescued in the A-10 incident, only one of the two crew members was rescued in the F-15E incident, and search-and-rescue teams are still frantically searching for the second missing crew member.
