How did Iran shoot down a U.S. fighter jet?

VIA TIME:

On Saturday, Iran’s military said it had used a new air defense system to target a U.S. fighter jet, and that the country would “definitely achieve full control” ‌over its airspace, ​according ‌to ⁠Iranian ⁠state media.

“The enemy should know that we will achieve the complete control of the sky of our country with new air defence systems built by the young scientists and proud youth of this country and one after another in the field of action… and prove the humiliation of the enemy to the world more than before,” said a spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command.

Iran had built a layered air defense system of short, medium and long-range surface-to-air missiles, both domestically and internationally produced. The Bavar-373 long-range mobile missile system is the most advanced it produces domestically. That system operates alongside the Russian-made S-300.

Israel claimed to have destroyed much of Iran’s S-300 capabilities during the June 2025 attack on its nuclear facilities, and both the U.S. and Israel spent the first days of the war concentrating firepower on destroying its air defenses.

But the events of the last few days suggest Iran still retains some air defense capability.

“Make no mistake, there still are select surface-to-air missile systems that can work…plus those shoulder-launched missiles that if you’re flying at a low enough altitude could still pose a threat,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative Washington think tank, told Fox News on Friday.

A February Financial Times report found that Iran entered into a multi-million dollar arms deal with Russia to acquire thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles to bolster and rebuild its air defense systems. That system, the Verba, is one of Russia’s most modern air-defense systems. It is a shoulder-mounted system that fires infrared-guided missiles capable of targeting cruise missiles, low-flying aircrafts and drones.

Although that deal runs from 2027 to 2029, the Financial Times said that some shipments could have arrived early. Russia has also reportedly supplied Iran with intelligence on U.S. military assets, including the locations of warships and aircraft.

The loss of the F-15 was the first known instance of a U.S. combat aircraft going down in Iranian territory since the conflict began.

The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that in the current war, the U.S. has flown more than 13,000 missions, striking more than 12,300 targets. It has also flown B-52 bombers, which are much slower and more vulnerable to air defense systems—a sign that Iran’s air defense systems have been significantly degraded.