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US Military Rescues Crew Member After F-15 Shot Down in Southern Iran
A US F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over southern Iran on Friday, leading to the rescue of one crew member on Sunday. The operation involved special forces, aircraft, and the CIA amid Iranian efforts to capture the airman. Iranian state media reported destroying US aircraft during the incident.
Apr 5, 4:00 PM·2m read1 source
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The US military conducted a rescue operation for a missing crew member after an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down in southern Iran. The incident occurred on Friday and marked the first US fighter jet downed by enemy fire in more than 20 years. The aircraft carried a pilot and a weapons systems officer, both of whom ejected.
The pilot was rescued on the same day, while the second crew member remained missing initially. US forces initiated a search operation. Iran stated it sought to capture the airman alive and offered a bounty of £50,000 ($66,100). Social media videos, unverified by the BBC, showed armed civilians searching the area.
The missing airman, equipped only with a handgun, followed survival training by activating a beacon signal, moving to high ground, concealing himself, and establishing communications. US media reports indicated he hid in a mountain crevice and limited beacon use to avoid detection by Iranian forces.
The CIA tracked the airman's location in the mountain crevice and provided coordinates to the Pentagon, according to a senior Trump administration official cited in US media. The operation involved hundreds of special forces personnel, dozens of US fighter jets and helicopters, and a deception campaign by the CIA spreading false information within Iran that the airman had already been rescued.
US special forces approached the location using bombs and weapons fire to deter Iranian troops. President Donald Trump stated on social media on Sunday:
“We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran.”
Trump added that the airman's location was monitored 24 hours a day and that he was being pursued by Iranian forces getting closer by the hour. The US deployed dozens of aircraft armed with weapons for the retrieval.
