Trump Says US Military Destroyed Planes to Save F-15 Pilot

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON – United States President Donald John Trump has acknowledged that the US military destroyed several old aircraft as part of an operation in southern Isfahan. This was aimed at rescuing the pilot of a fighter jet F-15E Strike Eagle who ejected after being shot down by the Iranian military (IRGC).

“We blew up those old planes. We blew them to smithereens because we had equipment on those planes that, to be honest, we wanted to take, but I thought there was no point in spending another four hours there,” Trump said during a press conference in Washington DC on Monday (6/4/2026).

“So we didn’t want anyone; we have the best equipment in the world. We didn’t want anyone to inspect our anti-aircraft equipment and our other equipment,” Trump continued.

On Friday (3/4/2026), US media reported that the military had launched a large-scale search and rescue operation. This followed the downing of the supersonic fighter-bomber F-15E Strike Eagle over Iranian territory. One of the two pilots was quickly found.