An American F-15 fighter pilot, who was rescued by special forces after being shot down over Iran in April, told US intelligence services that he witnessed multiple Iranian drones moving in coordinated formation in the sky, arranged in what he described as a “jellyfish”-like structure.

According to four sources familiar with the matter, who spoke to CNN, the pilot stated during his debriefing that moments before ejecting from his aircraft, he saw dozens of drones hovering and moving as a single coordinated entity, forming a pattern resembling a “jellyfish”.

The account, which had not previously been made public, has sparked significant discussion within the US intelligence community, which still has not reached a definitive conclusion on the matter.

“Multiple drones linked together moving as one, with smaller drones beneath them like legs,” one source said, describing the scene as “truly surreal”.

Another source described an “airborne minefield of drones”, as reported by the pilot.

While the exact cause of the F-15 being shot down remains under investigation, early assessments suggested that possible coordinated drone activity may have played a role in the attack on the American fighter jet.

Two people were on board the aircraft — the pilot and the weapons systems officer. US forces immediately launched a search-and-rescue operation.

The pilot was rescued a few hours after ejecting, while the second crew member managed to escape into the mountains for more than a day before being located and rescued.

Doubts within intelligence services

US intelligence agencies remain divided over how to interpret the pilot’s account, as it is unclear how accurately he could describe the events given that he suffered a concussion during the incident.

According to sources, this was not the first time the same pilot had been shot down during the conflict with Iran.

Senior officials reportedly questioned him repeatedly on whether he was certain about what he had seen, as his description was considered unusual and difficult to verify.

Mesh networking drone technology

According to the same sources, the pilot’s description corresponds to a technology known as “one-to-many meshed networking”, which allows multiple drones to operate as a single coordinated system.

This technology theoretically enables simultaneous control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, while similar capabilities are already attributed to countries such as Russia and China.

US assessments suggest that Iran has received technological assistance from third countries in developing its drone program, which is already considered highly advanced.

The potential existence of such technology is considered by military analysts to pose a significant challenge to US forces and their allies in the Middle East.

At the same time, experts note that similar systems could theoretically also be used for peaceful applications, such as providing internet connectivity in remote areas.

However, their military use in coordinated drone attacks is raising serious concerns about the future of drone warfare.