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US A-10 Warthog struck by Iranian fire — made it to Kuwaiti airspace before crash, pilot ejected safely
·Near Strait of Hormuz
An A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) was struck by Iranian fire on April 3. The aircraft made it to Kuwaiti airspace before the pilot ejected and the plane crashed. The pilot was safely rescued. Iran claimed credit; the US confirmed the loss but not the cause.
An A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft was struck by Iranian fire on April 3 while operating near the Strait of Hormuz region. A US official confirmed to NBC News that the aircraft was hit and that it made it to Kuwaiti airspace before the pilot ejected and the plane crashed. The pilot was safely rescued. Iran's military claimed its air defense systems had hit the A-10; the US confirmed the loss but had not publicly attributed the cause.
The A-10 was among a fleet of Warthogs recently deployed to the region under Operation Epic Fury for anti-naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz, where it was 'hunting and killing fast attack watercraft,' per the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The A-10's ejection over Kuwait confirmed the aircraft made it out of Iranian/Gulf airspace before the crew was forced to abandon it, a better outcome than the F-15E which went down over Iranian territory.
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Actor responses
US officials confirmed A-10 Warthog crash near Hormuz; pilot safely rescued. Cause not disclosed. Second US aircraft lost on April 3 alongside F-15E shootdown over Iran.
Iran has not claimed the A-10 shootdown. IRGC has previously stated it claimed the F-15E; the A-10's cause of loss was not attributed by US officials.
Sources