While US forces conducted a high-risk combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) mission deep inside Iranian territory to rescue the second pilot of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter plane shot down by Iran on Friday, American forces had to destroy two military transport planes during the operation.
As per reports, US special operations forces deliberately destroyed two disabled US Air Force C-130 transport aircraft to prevent sensitive technology and equipment from falling into Iranian hands after they got disabled or stuck inside Iranian territory. The incident occurred at a remote forward operating site established during the extraction of the second crew member from a downed F-15E jet.
According to media reports citing military officials, the two C-130s landed at the temporary site in southwestern Iran near Behbahan to support the ground extraction team as part of operation "Gideon's Reach". However, one plane sustained mechanical failure after landing, and the other was damaged during a high-intensity landing under fire.
Both aircraft became operationally disabled as a result of these incidents, unable to take off. Rather than risk capture by approaching Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces, US commanders ordered the aircraft scuttled on site using thermite charges. Three additional planes landed at the site to evacuate the crew of the two planes, after which the planes were destroyed intentionally by the US commandos.
After everyone left the place, F/A-18s fighter jets hit the planes with precision airstrikes to ensure that the aircraft are completely destroyed and Iranian forces can't retrieve any sensitive information. The evacuated crew were flown to a base in Kuwait.
Iranian state media and the IRGC quickly claimed credit for destroying US aircraft involved in the rescue, and posted visuals of the wreckage. Tasnim news agency and other outlets reported that Iranian forces, in a joint operation involving air defences, ground units, and popular militias, intercepted and shot down US aircraft south of Isfahan province. Iranian sources shared images of the planes on the ground at a remote site and a thick plume of black smoke rising from the location, calling the event as a successful strike against "enemy flying objects" during the US mission.
Iran's Law Enforcement Information Center claimed, "Moments ago, a U.S. C-130 support aircraft was destroyed by intense fire from a police special forces unit." They added that "a hostile refueling aircraft was also shot down by police commandos in southern Isfahan." Iran also claimed that they shot down two Black Hawk helicopters, which have not been confirmed.
However, now US forces have said that the planes were intentionally destroyed by themselves after they became disabled, and they were not shot down by Iranian police.
This episode highlights the intense risks of operating inside hostile territory during the US-led campaign against Iran.