US officials said that NBC News that a shoulder-fired Chinese MANPADS missile was possibly the weapon used to shoot down the US F-15E Strike Eagle over Iran.
US officials are investigating the possibility that the F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran may have been hit by a Chinese-made man-portable air defense system (MANPADS). NBC News reported on May 30, 2026. However, unnamed officials have not made a definitive claim and did not reveal details of the make of the MANPADS or when they were transferred to Iran.
This follows the US president. Donald Trump’s clues from April about the F-15 being hit by a Chinese MANPADS, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington at the time immediately denied “the baseless accusations.” The Embassy responded that “China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict; the information in question is false.” cnn reported.
Confirmed US losses from Iranian fire include the F-15E Strike Eagle in question and an A-10C Thunderbolt II. Additionally, extremely close calls were recorded against an F-35 and an F/A-18 Super Hornet, while an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) was destroyed on the ground and KC-135 Stratotankers were at least damaged by debris from Iranian surface fires, two of which have been photographed.
Iranian Headquarters Spokesperson Khatam al-Anbiya:
🔺 A second American fifth-generation F-35 was attacked and shot down over central Iran by a new air defense system of the IRGC Aerospace Force.
🔺 Given the huge explosion on impact and during the crash, it is unlikely that the pilot ejected. pic.twitter.com/akrsz1m8Mm
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) April 3, 2026
In the downing of the F-15 in early April, while the pilot was rescued within hours, the recovery of the Weapons Systems Operator (WSO), who was reportedly hiding in the Zagros Mountains, prompted a massive Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission. Minor hostilities continue, especially over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and large-scale hostilities are not expected to resume as the broader ceasefire remains in place.
What the report says
NBC News cited three unnamed officials as saying the F-15 “was likely hit by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile” and “may” have been supported by a “long-range early warning radar that detects stealth aircraft,” which Iran received in the “early days” of the war. Meanwhile, the MANPADS were about “7 feet long and weighed 40 pounds.”
Regarding the latest development, the Chinese embassy was more measured in its response to NBC Newsinstead of a complete denial. “China always acts prudently and responsibly in 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 smears and ill-intentioned associations,” a statement said.
Iranian air defense inventory
Iranian air defenses are relatively sophisticated, comprising a combination of long-rumored domestically developed, Russian and Chinese surface-to-air missile platforms. These include the domestically developed medium- and long-range Servom Khordad, Ra’ad, Bavar-373, the optically guided Majid AD-08 mounted on a short/very short range air defense (S/VSHORAD) SUV, and the unorthodox Product 378 and Product 379 loitering anti-aircraft munitions.
Products 378 and 379, as we explained above, use passive optical tracking while being launched from everyday civilian trucks. This allows ‘pop-up’ attacks that do not activate the aircraft’s radar warning receivers and give the crew little time to react.
🇺🇸🇮🇷🇨🇳 US officials believe the F-15 fighter that was shot down over southwestern Iran was hit by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile.
They also believe China provided Iran with a long-range early warning radar that detects stealth aircraft intended to evade detection… pic.twitter.com/RYojN6CkLB
– Shiri_Sabra (@sabra_the) May 30, 2026
The Russian systems consist of the S-300PMU2, the most advanced variant of the medium-range SAM, whose delivery was confirmed by Russian arms exports. October 2016.
Finally, the Chinese system that is often touted as capable of combating stealth is the YLC-8B X-band anti-aircraft radar, named in some of the latest reports. information having been used by Iran. US intelligence officials stated in early April that China was “evaluating the possibility of providing Tehran” with this radar.
US media reports on China’s impending arms sales to Iran, citing US security and defense officials, continued in May. Another Chinese system think tanks claimed in July 2025 The weapon that Iran received, after the 12-day war with Israel, is the HQ-9B long-range SAM.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS: Made in China: The missile that shot down a US F-15 has Beijing’s fingerprints all over it
The missile came from China. Xi looked Trump in the eyes and lied.
US intelligence now believes the F-15E lost over southern Iran was killed by a… https://t.co/rdSsN5f69q pic.twitter.com/sGAIaHy7ud
-Aric Chen (@aricchen) May 30, 2026
China-Iran relations
Chinese and Iranian defense cooperation returns from the 1980smostly with anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles. Primarily, the cooperation consists of dual-use civilian components such as electronics, circuits, semiconductors used in drones and chemicals used in missiles, rocket boosters and warheads. These are transferred in an oil-for-arms barter deal, given Beijing’s enormous energy needs.
These latest claims by U.S. security officials that Chinese weapons ended up in Iranian hands have not been accompanied by a formal protest from the White House, State Department or War Department toward China, unlike frequent Chinese criticism of U.S. military sales to Taiwan. The contrast highlights the possible diplomatic equation at play.
Armenia displayed Iranian-made Majid (AD-08) short-range air defense systems during its Republic Day military parade.
The SHORAD system is the same platform that Iran recently used against Israeli and US drones and is believed to have played a role in the downing of several manned aircraft. pic.twitter.com/smY3ynlvwp
— Egyptian Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) May 29, 2026
The same NBC The report cited another official about known Chinese arms transfers to Iran since the 1980s, which briefly stopped in 2006 after a U.N. arms embargo, while downplaying the latest cases. “It was not significant support. It did not have a decisive operational impact,” the official said.
Capacity and future
If confirmed, this would make the F-15 the second case of a Western platform being shot down by a Chinese weapon. The first involved the May 2025 air skirmish between India and Pakistan, where a PL-15 beyond visual range missile was reportedly employed against Indian fighters, including the Rafale, MiG-29UPG and Su-30MKI. However, Iran’s air defense lacks the integration necessary to create an integrated air defense system for two reasons.
Components of the “3rd Khordad” Battalion (Iranian Air Defense Missile System):
– 4 LOOMS
– 8 PHONE
– 1 Bashir Phased Array radar
– 1 Battalion Command Post
– Transporters#AirDefenseSystem #ADVERTISEMENT #Iran #IRGC #Khordad pic.twitter.com/s5vJrk4zg3— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱△ 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇺🇲🇬🇷 (@TheDeadDistrict) May 26, 2020
One is the near absence of an air force composed of at least Gen. 4 (if not Gen. 4.5 and Gen. 5) fighters, aerial refuelers, airborne radars, and possibly ISR/SIGINT aircraft. These coordinate with the various ground-based air defenses and point defense aircraft that defend strategic air bases.
Secondly, a lack of fusion between Iranian radars and their Russian and Chinese anti-aircraft sensors cannot be expected due to different hardware, circuits, communication protocols and possibly lack of time and space with Iranian commanders to carry out the exercise.
long range SAM
The Sayyad missile is a copy of the SM-1 #US and is in continuous modernization. The ranges are speculative.
Talash 3- Sayyad 3- 120 km
Khordad 15 – Sayyad 3- 150 km
Bávar 373- Sayyad 4- 200 km pic.twitter.com/6o0fOi7Pg0-Sankalan Chattopadhyay (@VinodDX9) January 4, 2020
However, the Iranian military relied heavily on secondary support from Russia and China in terms of targeting information from satellites, particularly the latter’s privately owned MizarVision space-based optical surveillance network, with near-real-time image updates over US bases in the Gulf. As Washington Post As reported earlier this month, based on new satellite images, the number of US targets across the Gulf attacked by Iran was much higher than initially reported.
