A Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile probably shot down the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle over southwestern Iran last month, three people with knowledge of the matter told News. The finding adds a new twist to a case that has already become one of the most closely watched air combat episodes in years.
The two-man crew survived. The pilot was rescued within seven hours, while the weapons systems officer hid in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains before being found and pulled out two days later. U.S. officials are still investigating how the jet was brought down in April, but the latest report points to a weapon that is also known as a man-portable air defense system, or MANPADS, the kind of missile that can be carried and fired from the shoulder.
The shootdown was the first time in decades that a U.S. fighter had been downed by enemy fire. That alone made the incident unusual; the possibility that the weapon was Chinese-made raises the diplomatic stakes further, because any evidence of Chinese military equipment in Iranian hands would deepen scrutiny of Beijing’s role in the conflict.
Trump had already said last month that the plane was hit by a shoulder-launched missile. He also said Xi had promised him China was not sending weapons to Iran, calling it a promise he would take at face value. But the new reporting does not end with the missile that hit the F-15. U.S. intelligence reporting also suggests China was planning to provide new air defense weaponry to Iran in coming weeks, and officials believe China may have supplied a long-range early-warning radar in the early days of the conflict.
There is still a gap at the center of the story: it is not clear when any Chinese military equipment was handed over to Iran. The Chinese Embassy said Beijing acts prudently and responsibly on military exports and opposes what it called groundless smear and ill-intentioned association. For Washington, the unanswered question is whether the weapon that brought down an American fighter was an isolated transfer or part of a broader pipeline that U.S. officials are still trying to map.
