The F-15 fighter that was shot down over southwestern Iran last month and set off a dangerous rescue mission was probably struck by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile, three people with knowledge of the matter told NBC News on Saturday.
In the early days of the conflict, China also may have provided Iran with a long-range early-warning radar that spots stealth aircraft that are meant to evade detection, according to one of the people and a US official with knowledge of the matter.
US officials are still investigating the circumstances around the shootdown of the American F-15E Strike Eagle in April, the sources said. It was the first time in decades that a US fighter was downed by enemy fire.
It’s not clear when the military equipment was handed over.
But Iran’s use of weapons made in China complicates Americans’ relationship with Beijing at a time when President Donald Trump has sought China’s help in ending the conflict.
At the time the plane was downed last month, Trump said it was struck by a shoulder-launched missile.
About 2.1 meter-long and weighing around 18 kilograms, the weapons, also known as “man-portable air defense weapons,” or “Manpads,” provide an inexpensive, effective way to take down low-flying aircraft.
The two-man crew of the F-15 jet safely ejected from the aircraft over Iran. The pilot was rescued within seven hours, but it took two days to locate and rescue the weapons systems officer, who hid in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, according to the Pentagon.
Asked about the shootdown of the F-15, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy said in a statement: “China always acts prudently and responsibly on the export of military products, and exercises strict control in accordance with China’s laws and regulations on export control and due international obligations. China opposes groundless smear and ill-intentioned association.”
US intelligence reporting suggests China was planning to provide new air defense weaponry to Iran in coming weeks, NBC News reported previously.
US officials may have leaked the intelligence in a possible bid to expose China’s plans, according to former national security officials, a tactic used by previous administrations.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration accused China of allowing Iran access to Chinese satellites to help Tehran target US forces in the region.
The State Department imposed sanctions on three Chinese satellite companies that it said were providing imagery and data to enable Iran to launch attacks against US forces in the Middle East. China denied the accusation.
The US is aware of everything that China is doing to support Iran, according to the US official who had knowledge of the discussions, who said that China supported Iran before the war and any assistance during the ongoing conflict has not made a difference on the battlefield.
“It was not significant support. There was no decisive operational impact to it,” the US official said.
China once sold large quantities of weapons to Iran in the 1980s and 1990s, including ballistic missiles, anti-ship missiles, tanks, artillery and fighter jets.
But after a UN arms embargo against Iran was introduced in 2006, China backed away from major weapons sales and instead provided components and other technology to Iran that had both civilian and military uses, according to experts and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
