US loses military jets to enemy fire for first time in over 20 years, ret. general tells AP

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American F15's take off from RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, to take part in a training mission with Nato Forces in Spain and Portgual in 2003. (Photo by Andrew Parsons - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

The downing of American fighter jets in the skies over Iran this week marks the first time in decades that the United States lost a military warplane to enemy fire, according to a retired Air Force general.

What they're saying:

The last time it happened was during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, when an A-10 Thunderbolt II was shot down, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell told the Associated Press.

"The fact that this hasn’t happened until now is an absolute miracle," Cantwell told the news agency. "We’re flying combat missions here, they are being shot at every day."

Dig deeper:

In the interview, Cantwell noted that the U.S. military actions over the past 20-plus years mainly involved fighting insurgents, who do not have the same abilities to fight against an aerial attack. 

The former F-16 fighter pilot, who served four combat tours and is now a senior resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, also credited the nation’s military for the fact that more jets were not lost. 

Search continues after F-15 shot down

As of Saturday evening, crews are still trying to locate one of the individuals who were on an F-15E fighter jet when it went down on Friday. The other crew member aboard the jet was located later that day.

The aircraft was one of two jets that were reported to have been downed during military operations that day. The Washington Post and Fox News Digital reported that an A-10 Warthog had been hit by enemy fire. Its pilot navigated the plane back to Kuwaiti airspace before ejecting and being rescued.  

Four U.S. military planes had gone down during the Iran war before Friday’s search-and-rescue operation.