CNN: F-15 pilot described frightening sight before being shot down in Iran – "They moved as one"
The reliability of the observation has been questioned, but if it is true, the conclusions are worrying.
In the United States, new information has emerged about the case in which a U.S. Air Force Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle fighter was shot down during the Iran war. The two-person crew was rescued from the ground in a large air operation.
Now CNN reports, based on four anonymous sources, what the aircraft's pilot said he saw before being shot down: a drone formation moving together in the air.
"Many drones moving as one. Smaller drones under larger drones, like legs. Totally alien-like," one source said.
According to another source, the pilot described a kind of minefield formed by drones. It is possible that the drone formation somehow contributed to the aircraft being shot down.
If the observations are accurate, this would indicate a worrying development in Iranian drone technology in terms of networking.
On the other hand, U.S. intelligence officials have also questioned the pilot's account. He sustained a concussion during the shootdown. Additionally, the pilot had previously been shot down in the same war. This was the incident where Kuwait accidentally shot down three USAF F-15Es.
Drones are not the only possible technology by which the F-15E could have been shot down. In April, Dr. Justin Bronk, an air warfare researcher at the British Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that Iran and the Houthi rebels have previously successfully modified old Soviet-era R-27 air-to-air missiles for air defense use.
"An R-27ET or R-27T infrared missile has been placed on a truck bed. The truck has a camera sensor to detect the aircraft, and the missile has been modified to obey that sensor. Then the missile is launched, which probably still thinks it is attached to the aircraft's pylon, and hits a Saudi fighter without revealing radar signals," Bronk assessed.
According to Bronk, the Iranians had several infrared or optical missile systems that could be thought capable of hitting a USAF F-15 or F-35 (which suffered damage in the war but managed to land).
"To my knowledge, the American Strike Eagle does not have a warning system that detects a rocket engine trail."
Such a short- or medium-range system could have hit the F-15E, which reportedly flew at an altitude of about 12,000–16,000 feet (approximately 3,660–4,900 m), possibly searching for targets using its targeting pod.
"It wouldn't require any of the sillier rumors I've seen online, like the Iranians getting some top-secret Chinese passive system. Passive radar systems have been around for a while, and they generally don't provide sufficiently good tracking data."
