The pilot of an F-15E shot down above Iran in April had also survived a previous shootdown less than five weeks earlier, according to a report Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.
The High Side publication, citing current and former US Air Force officials, said the pilot was flying the F-15E that was brought down by an Iranian missile strike April 3.
It said that the pilot had previously been involved in a separate incident in late February, when one of three F-15Es was shot down by a Kuwaiti F/A-18 in what was described as a friendly-fire episode.
Noting that the two incidents occurred less than five weeks apart, the report said Air Force officials believe the pilot is “almost certainly” the first fixed-wing Air Force aviator to be shot down twice in the same conflict since the Vietnam War.
The report also said the aircraft’s weapons officer was injured after ejecting during the April incident.
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Citing a former senior Air Force official who was briefed on the matter, the report said the officer suffered injuries after his parachute failed to fully deploy following his ejection from the aircraft.
CENTCOM, which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, confirmed that two service members were recovered after their F-15E jet was downed by a shoulder-fired missile April 2.
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. Tehran retaliated with attacks targeting Israel and US allies in the Gulf, alongside the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but subsequent talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. The two sides have since continued exchanging proposals and counterproposals in an effort to resume direct talks and end the war.
