Until recently, the Iranian regime’s air defense system looked like a slingshot going up against a laser cannon. The closest Iran’s military got to taking out an Israeli or American jet was when an F-35 was damaged by enemy groundfire late last month, forcing it to make an emergency landing.
But then, on Friday, the Iranians downed an F-15E fighter jet over southwestern Iran and another A-10C Thunderbolt C jet near the Strait of Hormuz. One of the two airmen from the F-15 has been rescued, as has the pilot from the A-10C.
This demonstrates Iran’s ability to change tactics in a war it has been losing since Israeli air strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28. The relentless campaign has forced Iran’s remaining leaders into hiding, obliterated many of its missiles and launchers, ravaged its defense industrial base, and erased its navy and what passed for its air force.
