Despite the US claims that it had won the Operation Epic Fury air war and destroyed the Iranian Air Force and the country’s air defence capabilities, the USAF continued to suffer losses both on the ground and, for the first time, in the air.
Iranian ballistic missiles damaged two USAF EC-130H Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on 27 March. Consequently, two newer EC-37B Compass Call aircraft, based on the Gulfstream G550 business jet, arrived at RAF Mildenhall on 1 April.
On the same day, a US Army CH-47 Chinook was extensively damaged at a US base in Kuwait by an Iranian drone strike.
The United States is bolstering its attack aviation force in the Middle East by deploying extra A-10C Thunderbolt II Warthog aircraft.
These actions take place amid increasing rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Iran, including statements about potential strikes on the country’s civilian infrastructure and oil production sector.
Up to 20 A-10C aircraft may have been gathered at Portsmouth International Airport in Pisa, New Hampshire, which is commonly used as a transit hub for deploying aircraft to Europe. From there, they might be dispatched to the Middle East via RAF Lakenheath in the UK.
However, on 3 April, an A-10C was hit by Iranian air defence and crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. The pilot ejected.
On the same day, the USAF suffered a more serious loss when the Iranian air defence force shot down an F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron of RAF Lakenheath over western Iran. The crew ejected, and the pilot was quickly rescued. There was now a race between the US and Iran to save the weapons systems operator.
CENTCOM’s Combat Search & Rescue (CSAR) MC-130J Combat King IIs and HH-60W Pave Hawk helicopters were deployed on the search, escorted by USAF fighter aircraft. An A-10C deployed to provide “Sandy” support to the USAF CSAR mission was damaged by Iranian fire over the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in Iran on 3 April, with minor damage to its tail. The aircraft managed to reach Kuwait when the pilot ejected. An HH-60W was also hit by ground fire and landed in Iraq.
The WSO was rescued on 5 April, although two MC-130Js had to be destroyed on the ground after being stranded on a remote landing strip near Mayhar in Isfahan Province. Several AH-6M Little Bird helicopters belonging to the US Army’s 160th SOAR were also destroyed as they were meant to be flown out on the MC-130Js. The rescued WSO and the aircrew of the destroyed aircraft were evacuated by three Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) DHC-8s.
Although the Strike Eagle’s crew rescue was successful, the incident proved costly for US forces and reaffirmed the ongoing capabilities of Iran’s air defences.
by David Oliver
