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A US fighter jet pilot rescued by special forces after being shot down over Iran in April described a shocking sight before ejecting from his aircraft: multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one, in a formation that resembled a jellyfish, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
The account, which has not been previously reported, was shared by the F-15 pilot with intelligence officials during a debriefing after the incident. It immediately set off a firestorm of debate within the US intelligence community that has yet to be resolved.
If the airman really saw what he described — a formation moving in unison — it would be an alarming advance in Iranian drone capabilities.
“Multiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs,” one of the sources familiar with the pilot’s witness account told CNN. “Real alien sh*t.”
US intelligence officials disagreed on how to interpret what the F-15 pilot described, and whether the pilot could recount the incident clearly.
For one thing, he was concussed in the crash. It was his second time being shot out of the sky during the Iran war: he had also been among the pilots downed in a friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti forces early in the conflict, according to two of the sources.
Had he witnessed a mature capability that US intelligence wasn’t aware of? A beta test? A mirage in the desert?
The intelligence officials conducting the debrief said something to the effect of: “Are you sure you saw what you are saying you saw?” another one of the sources said.
It was his second time being shot out of the sky during the Iran war: he had also been among the pilots downed in a friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti forces early in the conflict, according to two of the sources.