The downing of an F-15E Strike Eagle by Iran during Operation Epic Fury on April 3 has brought renewed focus to one of the US Air Force’s most advanced fighter aircraft, in what would mark the first loss of a crewed combat jet over Iran in the operation.

According to Business Insider, the F-15E Strike Eagle is a multi-role aircraft built for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions and is widely considered a dominant presence in the skies because of its speed, range and versatility.

Here’s a closer look at the F-15E Strike Eagle, an advanced aircraft the US is using to destroy Iran’s missile arsenal and drone bases from the skies above Iran.

The first F-15A model flew in 1972, and the first F-15Es were produced in 1988, according to the US Air Force.

The air-to-air and air-to-ground attack aircraft can fly at 1,875 miles per hour, or 2.5 times the speed of sound.

The high thrust-to-weight ratio also allows the F-15E Strike Eagle to execute tight turns without sacrificing speed.

It has two Pratt & Whitney F100 engines, each producing over 23,000 pounds of thrust.

Pilots can track and attack targets, check the status of weapons, and see other tactical and flight information without taking their eyes off the windscreen.

The LANTIRN system allows the planes to fly in any weather and attack ground targets at low altitudes.

The system consists of two pods, a navigation pod and a targeting pod, mounted under the plane.

Its armament includes an internally mounted 20-millimetre gun with 500 rounds of ammunition, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, and AIM-120 AMRAAMs, an acronym for the radar-guided Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles.

The F-15 also regularly carries ground attack weapons like the Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, a kit that adapts an unguided munition into a “smart” bomb with fins and GPS guidance.

The weapon system officer sits directly behind the pilot, and closely manages the plane’s sensors and weapons.

Two variants of the F-15 are single-seaters: the F-15A and F-15C.

F-15E Strike Eagles have a fuel capacity of 35,550 pounds.

The fighter jets can be refuelled in flight by KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, which Boeing developed from its “Dash 80” prototype in the 1950s.

KC-135s were also deployed to Israel as part of Operation Epic Fury. 

One crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, killing six US service members.

United States Central Command said the circumstances of the crash were under investigation, but it “was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

Newer F-15 models cost around $100 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The newest version of the aircraft is the F-15EX Eagle II, which features more advanced controls and upgraded engines.

All six crew members ejected safely. The incident is under investigation.

“Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defence forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” CENTCOM said.

After an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran, both the pilot and the weapons system officer ejected from the plane.

The pilot was rescued hours later, but the weapons system officer remained missing.

US officials located the airman using a beacon he was holding, and Special Operations forces worked to extract him as Iranian state media advertised a reward for his capture.

Two days later, on April 5, the US sent C-130 planes and MH-6 Special Operations helicopters to rescue the downed weapons system officer while planting false intelligence to draw Iranian forces away from the area. The mission was jeopardised when the aircraft became stuck in the dirt, but replacement planes arrived in time, and the airman was rescued.

US bombers then blew up the aircraft that were left behind during the mission.

“WE GOT HIM!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on April 5 announcing the airman’s rescue.

The incident marked the first crewed combat aircraft loss over Iran.