What Has Iran Said About The Missing Pilot?
A news anchor reporting for a local affiliate of Iranian state media read a statement urging locals to search for the "enemy's pilot or pilots" and return them alive to authorities for a reward, the Times reported. Unnamed Iranian officials told the Times Iranian forces are pursuing the American pilot Saturday. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, taunted the United States in a post on X Friday: "After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?🥺" Iran also confirmed Saturday it used a new air defense system to target the fighter jet, with an Iranian military spokesperson telling Reuters the country would "definitely achieve full control" over its airspace.
What Do We Know About Friday's Second Plane Crash?
An A-10 Warthog attack plane crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, the Times reported, and its pilot was safely rescued, though other details about the crash are unclear, including why or how the plane crashed. The A-10 crash occurred around the same time as the previously reported F-15E jet was shot down by Iran, according to the Times.
What Do We Know About The Jet -- including Costs?
The downed jet was an F-15E Strike Eagle, the New York Times reported. F-15E Strike Eagle jets seat two crew members, a pilot and a weapons systems officer, and they are used for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, according to an Air Force fact sheet. F-15E jets cost $31.1 million in 1998 constant dollars, according to the fact sheet, though the Wall Street Journal previously reported newer models can cost close to $100 million. The jets were designed in the 1980s and have been used in various wars, including with Iraq and Afghanistan, and the jets are able to carry missiles and nuclear weapons, the fact sheet says. F-15E jets can travel at speeds up to 1,875 mph, or roughly 2.5-times the speed of sound, and they are capable of traveling 2,400 miles before needing to refuel. On March 1, three F-15E Strike Eagle jets were downed over Kuwait in what the U.S. Central Command said was a friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti air defenses. The six crew members were safely ejected.
Big Number
$1.5 trillion. That's the massive military budget Trump asked Congress for earlier Friday for fiscal year 2027, a 40% increase over the previous fiscal year budget. The White House said it would seek cuts to "woke, weaponized, and wasteful programs" to pay for the massive military budget increase, and Trump reportedly said at a private lunch earlier this week military spending should take precedence over social service programs. "We're fighting wars. We can't take care of day care . . . it's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things," Trump said, adding states should pay for these programs instead of the federal government.
Tangent
Trump said in a Truth Social post earlier Friday the United States could "easily" reopen the Strait of Hormuz "with a little more time," adding it could "TAKE THE OIL,& MAKE A FORTUNE." Trump has made conflicting statements about the strait in recent weeks, saying on March 20, "We don't use the strait, the United States, we don't need it," and claiming in his Wednesday address to the nation the strait will "open up naturally."
Key Background
Trump has repeatedly threatened additional strikes on Iran in recent days, including during his address to the nation Wednesday evening. Though Trump claimed the United States will "complete" its military objectives "very shortly," he threatened to strike Iran "extremely hard" over the next several weeks. During his Wednesday address, Trump said "discussions are ongoing," and in a Truth Social post on Thursday, he warned Iran to "MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE." Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry, said Thursday negotiations with the United States are impossible under current conditions, the New York Times reported, and Iran also denied a claim Trump made earlier this week that the country had requested a ceasefire.