Two US military helicopters that were involved in the F-15 search and rescue efforts were struck by Iranian fire, according to reports.
The service members onboard are all safe, a US official told NBC News.
Some of the crew on board were injured but both choppers have safely returned to their base, The Washington Post reported.
Insane footage of Iranian police officers shooting at passing low flying US airforce helicopters in Southern Iran pic.twitter.com/gaeyekDJSX
— WarMonitor🇺🇦🇬🇧 (@WarMonitor3) April 3, 2026
Two US military helicopters that were involved in the F-15 search and rescue efforts were struck by Iranian fire, according to reports. Iran state media
One American helicopter was hit as part of the efforts to recover the two US pilots inside the F-15E fighter jet that Iran downed. OSINTdefender/xVideo circulating on social media and verified by NBC News appeared to show Iranians firing on two American helicopters during the search and rescue mission.
It’s unclear if the helicopters were the same ones struck.
In the video, three men jump out of a car in a rural area in southwestern Iran and appear to open fire on the helicopters using small arms.
“An American helicopter and this is the military force,” the person filming the video says, according to NBC News. “Shoot, shoot. Well done! Shoot.”
Iranian state-linked media also claimed an American helicopter was hit as part of the efforts to recover the two American pilots inside an F-15E fighter jet that Iran downed.
One pilot has been rescued and the second is still missing, per reports.The F-15E went down in southern Iran and was the first US aircraft to be shot down behind hostile lines in Operation Epic Fury.
Additionally, Iranian forces hit an A-10 attack plane but it made its way back to Kuwaiti airspace before the crew ejected and were rescued, an official told The Washington Post.
The attacks raise questions for President Trump and Pentagon officials, who had claimed the majority of Iranian military forces were destroyed.
The president also has said he expects the war to end in the next two to four weeks. He told NBC News on Friday he doesn’t expect the attacks to affect peace negotiations.
