A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle flies in the US Central Command area of responsibility in November 2025. A similar aircraft was downed over Iran in April 2026, allegedly by a Chinese missile. (Shutterstock/wz94)

Did Iran Use a Chinese Missile to Shoot Down the ‘Dude 44’ F-15E?

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The shootdown underscores the extent to which China supplied Iran’s armed forces ahead of its fight against the United States, although Beijing has vigorously denied involvement.

Iran’s air defense forces likely used a Chinese-made missile to shoot down a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle over Iran in April—Iran’s first successful shootdown of a manned US aircraft in the recent war.

According to media reports, Iranian forces used a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile to shoot down the American fighter jet, which triggered one of the largest search and rescue operations since the Vietnam War.  

How a Chinese Anti-Aircraft Missile Targeted a US F-15E Strike Eagle  

On April 3, Iranian forces shot down an Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, with call sign “Dude........

© The National Interest