Trump in ‘panic mode’: How Iran’s downing of jets exposes US air power vulnerabilities

TEHRAN — The downing of two US military aircraft by Iran on Friday, including an advanced F‑15E Strike Eagle fighter jet, demonstrates that Tehran’s air defenses remain capable and lethal, even under sustained aerial pressure from American forces. The incidents expose the limits of President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that Washington enjoyed uncontested control of Iranian airspace and that the Islamic Republic’s military had been effectively neutralized.