Nearly the identical time as an F-15E Strike Eagle went down over Iran, the U.S. Air Power misplaced an A-10 Thunderbolt II assault plane close to the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officers instructed NYT that the jet’s pilot was safely rescued.
Whereas search and rescue efforts for no less than one of many crew members of an apparently Lakenheath-based F-15E Strike Eagle that went down in unclear circumstances over Iran on Friday Apr. 3, 2026, nameless U.S. officers have now revealed that an A-10 Thunderbolt II, generally generally known as a Warthog, was additionally misplaced close to the Strait of Hormuz across the identical time. The one-seat A-10’s pilot was, in line with the experiences, efficiently rescued.
BREAKING: A second Air Power fight airplane, a A-10 Warthog, crashed within the Persian Gulf area on Friday, and the lone pilot was safely rescued. This occurred across the identical time a F-15E was shot down over Iran. By @EricSchmittNYT and @tylerpager. pic.twitter.com/teOAek3M61
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) April 3, 2026
Given the acknowledged location of the incident, the A-10 was probably collaborating in common patrols concentrating on Iran’s fleet of small watercraft and drones which have primarily induced the Strait of Hormuz to be closed to nearly all transport site visitors. We now have reported on these missions beforehand, highlighting the utility of the plane and its weaponry on this function additional away from potential air defence threats. Photographs launched of the A-10s have proven crew-applied art work and nicknames adorning the perimeters of the jets.
Little additional element is at present recognized concerning the A-10 crash, together with whether or not it was because of mechanical failure, or hostile motion.
The U.S. are within the technique of transferring extra A-10s into the area by way of RAF Lakenheath within the UK. Curiously, whereas these plane have been transiting, the F-22 Raptors which had been deployed to Lakenheath presumably in anticipation for Center East operations have in reality departed again in the direction of the USA.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawgs.
That is why I race to Lakenheath time and time once more, you get some days which can be full gold and at the moment was no exception. What a day. pic.twitter.com/LmcqHUdaZb
— Alexander Clover (@Cloverkid92) April 2, 2026
Along with the F-15E and the A-10, there have additionally been unverified experiences and pictures of a possible hit scored towards a Black Hawk/Pave Hawk helicopter concerned in fight search and rescue (CSAR) operations.
#BREAKING I’ve now confirmed the Blackhawk WAS hit by Iran. The crew is accounted for and is protected, a US official tells me.
— Carla Babb (@CarlaBNewsmax) April 3, 2026
Elsewhere within the area, a U.S. Air Power F-16 Preventing Falcon was famous on flight monitoring web sites squawking the 7700 ‘normal emergency’ code over Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Iraq, at round 1500 UTC, and the identical was additionally famous of a KC-135 Stratotanker over Israel at round 1840 UTC.
#USAF United States Air Power – Common Emergency 🚨
Common Dynamics F-16CJ Preventing Falcon 1x#AE161D 91-0361 – WARHAWK 01
A single U.S. Air Power F-16 is squawking 7700 “Common Emergency” alongside the border of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The tail quantity proven on @flightradar24… pic.twitter.com/WJm18o5iBN
— Armchair Admiral 🇬🇧 (@ArmchairAdml) April 3, 2026
The explanation for these emergency squawks is unknown, they usually might characterize something from a minor mechanical difficulty or low gasoline state of affairs by way of to extra critical issues – it ought to be famous that seeing these exterior of an ongoing battle isn’t notably uncommon, however now we have famous it as a result of different incidents which have taken place at the moment.
Operation Epic Fury’s intense operational tempo is bound to be pushing crews and their plane near their limits, with plane flying many extra flight hours than they might be in coaching, so an elevated quantity of mechanical points and emergency squawks isn’t sudden.
