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3 Apr 2026, 18:23

Forwarded from channel 1098179827

📝 Review of Images Released by Iranian Media of the Remains of a Fighter Jet

🔹On April 3rd, Iranian media reported, citing armed forces, that a U.S. Air Force fighter jet had been shot down over Iran.

🔹The reports claimed that the jet was an F-35, but a closer examination of the images by experts indicates that the aircraft is an F-15E Strike Eagle.

🔹The cause of the crash has not yet been announced, and so far, no evidence has been released to show that this fighter jet was downed by air defense.

🔹Some reasons that suggest the aircraft in question is of the F-15E type include:

🔹The formation lights (known among pilots as slim lights) are identifiable at the wingtip.

🔹The thin, flexible yellow strips are electroluminescent (EL) and are installed on the wingtips (and sometimes on the body and tail of the aircraft). When illuminated at night or in low-light conditions, they glow with a soft, gentle light (similar to night light) without creating intense brightness that would disrupt the pilot's night vision.

🔹Formation lights allow pilots to easily identify the position, distance, and direction of the aircraft next to them during night flights, without being as bright and clear as regular lights, thus not compromising stealth or night vision.

🔹The AN/ALQ-128 electronic warfare warning system, along with a set of antennas and a red strip on the vertical stabilizer of the F-15E Strike Eagle.

🔹In one of the images, the AN/ALQ-128 electronic warfare warning system is identifiable on the left vertical stabilizer of the aircraft. The red strip on it indicates that the jet belongs to the 494th Squadron, nicknamed Panthers, part of the 48th Fighter Wing of the U.S. Air Force, which is stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the UK, with some of them having been transferred to Jordan.

🔹The images also show the insignia of the U.S. Air Force Command in Europe, parts of which are identifiable on the damaged vertical stabilizer.

🔹In another image, the rear section of the F-15E Strike Eagle's body (the connection point of the vertical/horizontal stabilizer to the body) is recognizable.

🌐 @Factnameh

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