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US Military Conducts Rescue Operation in Iran Using Improvised Airfield Near Isfahan
The US military established a forward arming and refueling point deep inside Iran to rescue an F-15 weapons system officer shot down over the country. The operation involved hundreds of special operations troops and dozens of aircraft in a mountainous region near Isfahan. It followed the first US aircraft combat losses in the ongoing Iran conflict.
Apr 5, 2:11 PM·2m read1 source
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The US military set up an improvised airfield, known as a forward arming and refueling point (FARP), in a mountainous region near Isfahan, Iran, to rescue an F-15 weapons system officer who was shot down. The operation took place in April 2026 and involved hundreds of special operations troops and other military personnel, as well as dozens of aircraft.
A senior US military official described the mission to the New York Times as one of the most challenging in US special operations history due to the terrain, the airman's injuries, and Iranian forces searching for him.
Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos reached the airman, who had evaded capture for more than a day and hiked up a 7,000-foot ridge line. Two C-130 transport planes designed for special operations missions became stuck at the FARP just before extraction, according to the Times.
Additional planes were required to retrieve personnel, and the US destroyed the stranded C-130s to prevent them from being captured by Iranian forces. Images of wreckage from the FARP indicate that other aircraft, including small helicopters, were also left behind and destroyed, as reported by The War Zone.
Iran's state TV claimed the wreckage was from a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation in Isfahan province, Iran, in April 2026. The mission succeeded with no casualties reported beyond the airman's injuries.
It occurred after the first combat losses of US aircraft in the Iran war: the F-15 shot down over Iran and an A-10 damaged by Iranian fire during search-and-rescue operations, which crashed after the pilot exited Iranian airspace.
US Marines practiced establishing FARPs in recent exercises. Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) hosted a seven-week FARP exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, last month. On April 1, 2026, Marines conducted FARP training at Landing Zone Bull Attack near Chocolate Mountains, California, including loading ordnance onto an AH-1Z Viper helicopter.
