The US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for military operations in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment following what would be the first known loss of a US jet inside Iran since President Donald Trump ordered the war.
“Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today,” Iran’s Fars news agency reported.
A local official television station in southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province aired footage of what it said was wreckage of the downed plane, showing a pile of twisted metal fragments in the back of a truck.
It broadcast a message from provincial police urging the area’s nomadic peoples and villagers to join the military in the hunt for the crew of the aircraft that may have gone down in the province.
“Dear and honourable people of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, if you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and bonus,” said a reporter on the channel.
The incident is the first report of a US fighter jet being downed in Iranian territory since the US and Israel launched their war on the Islamic republic on Feb 28.
It was unclear what aircraft was involved, with reports referring to both an F35 and F-15E fighter jet.
The New York Times quoted US and Israeli officials confirming the Iranian claims to have shot down a jet, and other major American outlets reported that US forces had launched a rescue operation.
According to a Western fighter pilot, in the event of ejection over hostile territory, “the first thing to do is to hide and try to signal your position to your comrades”.
Pilots wear a combat vest containing a radio/GPS-coded beacon to transmit their position and communicate with search teams, using a system of code words for signalling, the pilot told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
The vest is also equipped with water, vitamin bars, a first-aid kit and a pistol. Pilots are trained to fend for themselves in the wilderness while evading enemy soldiers after an ejection.
Last week, Iranian state media published footage purporting to show a missile targeting a F/A-18 flying over Chabahar, southeast Iran. The images show the US jet flying away with no visible damage.