Exclusive: Downed US pilot reported seeing Iranian drones swarm in ‘jellyfish’ formation

By Zachary Cohen, Katie Bo Lillis, CNN

(CNN) — A US fighter jet pilot rescued by special forces after being shot down over Iran in April described a shocking sight before ejecting from his aircraft: multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one, in a formation that resembled a jellyfish, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The account, which has not been previously reported, was shared by the F-15 pilot with intelligence officials during a debriefing after the incident. It immediately set off a firestorm of debate within the US intelligence community that has yet to be resolved.

If the airman really saw what he described — a formation moving in unison — it would be an alarming advance in Iranian drone capabilities.

“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 witness account told CNN. “Real alien sh*t.”

Another source told CNN the pilot described witnessing a “minefield of drones” in the air.

While the exact cause of the F-15 downing is still being investigated, initial reports indicated that it was possible the drone formation had in some way enabled Iran to shoot down the American jet, according to two of the sources.

The F-15 carried a crew of two — a pilot and a weapons system officer. US forces immediately launched search and rescue efforts, CNN previously reported.

The downing of the F-15 fighter jet marked the first time a US aircraft has been shot down over Iran during the conflict.

The pilot was rescued hours after ejecting from the aircraft, while the weapons systems officer evaded Iranian capture in the mountains for more than a day before also being rescued. It is not clear if the weapons systems officer also saw the drone formation.

A second aircraft, an A-10, was downed during the rescue effort but that pilot managed to eject safely outside of Iranian airspace.

US intelligence officials disagreed on how to interpret what the F-15 pilot described, and whether the pilot could recount the incident clearly.

For one thing, he was concussed in the crash. It was his second time being shot out of the sky during the Iran war: he had also been among the pilots downed in a friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti forces early in the conflict, according to two of the sources.

Had he witnessed a mature capability that US intelligence wasn’t aware of? A beta test? A mirage in the desert?

The intelligence officials conducting the debrief said something to the effect of: “Are you sure you saw what you are saying you saw?” another one of the sources said.

The US Air Force directed queries to US Central Command, which did not directly address questions from CNN. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not reply to a request for comment.

The questions about Iran’s drone program come as the US and Tehran negotiate a deal that would end the Iran war, having begun a 60-day window for talks as part of a ceasefire last week. Those talks are expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program, though a wide range of issues have been raised by both parties.

While the specific drone capability described by the pilot was not something that US intelligence agencies had previously assessed Iran possessed, there is a trail of reports indicating that Iran had been receiving assistance in developing its drone technology from China and Russia, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The technical term for the capability described by the pilot is “one-to-many meshed networking,” according to the sources.

In general, meshed networking allows an operator to command several drones at a time.

Other countries — Russia and China — are believed to have the capability. Any development in Iran’s already-sophisticated drone warfare program would be a concern for US forces and its allies in the region.

Meshed networking could also theoretically be used to provide internet connectivity in remote areas without existing infrastructure, noted one US official — in theory, a benign function.

Iran aggressively employed its attack drones as an asymmetric weapon during the weeks-long conflict against US and Israeli forces as well as nearby Gulf countries.

“We will spend huge, huge dollars, like a lot of blood and treasure, protecting ourselves from something that can coordinate like that,” Emma Bates, a drone warfare and defense modernization expert who founded the company Cachai, told CNN, referring to the threat posed by meshed networking capabilities for drones.

“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,” Bates said.

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