A US pilot who was rescued after his plane was shot down in Iran chillingly recalled being swarmed by Iranian drones that moved together in unison in a jellyfish-like formation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs,\u201d one of the sources familiar with the pilot\u2019s witness account told CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cReal alien s\u2013t,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n Wreckage from what Iranian authorities say is a US military helicopter that crashed during a mission to rescue the missing American pilot of an F-15E that was downed earlier this week, in a handout image provided on April 5, 2026, in an unspecified location in Iran. Handout via Getty Images<\/p>\n The F-15 pilot shared the alarming encounter in a debriefing with intelligence officials after the April incident \u2014 which could indicate that Iran has significantly increased its military drone capabilities, according to CNN.<\/p>\n How the fighter jet was downed remains under investigation, but the drone formation \u2014 which one source told CNN the pilot described as a \u201cminefield of drones\u201d hovering in the air \u2014 may have helped Iran take the F-15 down.<\/p>\n The pilot and a weapons systems officer both ejected from the jet on Good Friday \u2014 the first time in the conflict a US plane was shot down in Iranian skies.<\/p>\n The pilot was quickly rescued hours later on April 3, but the weapons officer, who was seriously injured, had been forced into hiding<\/a> in the Zagros Mountains for more than a day after Iran placed a bounty on his head.<\/p>\n Iranian women walk past an anti-US and anti-Israel mural in Tehran on June 3, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear if the weapons officer witnessed the Iranian drones, according to CNN.\u00a0<\/p>\n Intelligence officials have been debating what to make of the pilot\u2019s account, and whether he remembered the incident clearly after suffering a concussion in the crash.<\/p>\n The same pilot had been involved in a friendly-fire incident in Kuwait <\/a>on March 2 in which Kuwait\u2019s defense forces accidentally fired on three F-15E Strike Eagle jets<\/a>. All six crew members were forced to eject and landed safely within the allied nation.<\/p>\n During the rescue operation for the pilot, a US helicopter was struck by small arms fire but landed safely, despite several crew members being wounded.<\/p>\n A piece of a US F-35 that was shot down. Iranian state media<\/p>\n The search for the weapons officer, who had a $60,000 price on his head, was significantly more difficult and dramatic, involving SEAL Team 6, a CIA ruse, and a forward airstrip quickly constructed in hostile territory.<\/p>\n The officer reportedly managed to scale a 7,000-foot ridge to evade capture for 36 hours with just a handgun for defense while American drones pounded nearby Iranian forces with missiles if they got close to his position.<\/p>\n At the same time, the CIA pulled off a diversion \u2014 planting fake intel that he had already been rescued and was being driven out of Iran, the New York Times reported.<\/p>\n A piece of the F-35 that was shot down. Iranian state media<\/p>\n The operation involved landing multiple transport aircraft on an ad-hoc landing strip deep in Iranian territory just south of the city of Isfahan after the officer\u2019s emergency beacon was tracked to the mountain.<\/p>\n