Dubai: The United States military has said it rescued a pilot from an F-15E Strike Eagle that was shot down by Iran, carrying out a high-risk search-and-rescue mission inside Iranian territory within 48 hours.
According to the report, the aircraft was flying over southern Iran on April 3 to strike military positions and missile sites when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps brought it down. Two crew members ejected; one was recovered within hours, while the other was left stranded alone in mountainous terrain, injured and hiding from Iranian forces and local tribes.
Iran announced a reward for anyone who captured the US airman, prompting an intensified search. The report said the CIA quickly spread a diversionary narrative claiming both pilots had already been rescued and would be moved out by land, leading Iranian forces and civilians to shift their focus.
US forces later located the stranded pilot using satellites, drones and intelligence. That night, multiple US aircraft entered Iranian airspace at low altitude to avoid radar, with F-35s monitoring radar and missile sites, A-10 aircraft providing cover, and an HC-130 supporting helicopters with refuelling.
HH-60W “Jolly Green” helicopters and special forces units, including Delta and SEAL teams, moved in on the ground during the night. When Iranian troops opened fire, A-10s responded, and the injured pilot was hoisted by rope into a helicopter and extracted. The US military said no one was killed in the operation, and President Donald Trump said the airman is safe and in good health.
