US pilot downed over Iran reported seeing jellyfish-like drone formation — report

China, Russia may have helped Tehran develop the technology

‘Meshed networking’ of drones may have allowed Iran to shoot down F-15; US intelligence said unsure if pilot’s account accurate, previously did not assess Tehran to have capability

By Michael Horovitz

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Today, 5:40 pm

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Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel

A US fighter pilot who was rescued after his jet was downed over Iran during the war in April reportedly described seeing multiple Iranian drones moving in a synchronized formation that resembled a jellyfish before his plane was shot down, which, if true, would mean Tehran possesses alarmingly advanced capabilities.

The capability described by the F-15 fighter pilot during an intelligence debriefing after the incident is called “one-to-many meshed networking” — when a drone operator controls multiple craft at a time, sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday.

Initial reports suggest the drone formation may have allowed Iran to bring down the F-15 fighter jet, two of the sources told CNN.

“Multiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs,” one of the sources familiar with the pilot’s description told CNN. “Real alien sh*t.”

Another source said the pilot recounted seeing a “minefield of drones” in the air before being shot down.

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According to CNN, intelligence officials were unsure whether the pilot had described the incident clearly, since he was concussed and also had been downed earlier in the war by Kuwaiti friendly fire. The report added that intelligence agencies had not previously assessed that Iran possessed meshed networking capabilities.

However, a “trail of reports” indicates that China and Russia, which do have such capabilities, have helped Iran to develop its drone technology, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The F-15 pilot was rescued the same day the plane was shot down, but the weapons system officer in the jet was extracted by US commandos in a daring mission 36 hours later. CNN said it was unclear if the latter also witnessed the formation.

It was the only time the US lost an aircraft in Iranian territory during the recent war, which began on February 28 with a wave of US and Israeli airstrikes that killed, among others, supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and ended this month with an agreement between the countries.

US Central Command did not address CNN’s questions on the matter, while the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to a request for comment by the network.

Drone expert Emma Bates told CNN that “huge dollars” could be spent defending against meshed networking capabilities.

“If it can coordinate itself into a recognizable shape and maintain that shape, and if it’s got explosives on board, and if it is holding resources in reserve to attack whatever the first volley didn’t destroy – that’s a very capable approach,” she told the network.

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