The second crew member of the Air Force F-15E shot down April 3 has been rescued from Iran. U.S. forces recovered the aviator alive and all American forces involved in the operation are believed to be safe, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The aviator is in U.S. hands after a dramatic nighttime rescue mission by American forces lasting into the early hours of April 5 local time.
U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones protected the crew member by striking Iranian military-aged males believed to be a threat who got within three kilometers of the Airman, a person familiar with the operation told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
American fighter jets were also involved in the mission. Two MC-130J Air Force Special Operations planes that partipated in the operation were blown up on the ground by U.S. forces.
“WE GOT HIM!” President Donald Trump later exclaimed in a lengthy social media post. “Over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.”
The President identified the missing Airman as a colonel “who was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour.”
U.S. forces were monitoring his location continuously, according to Trump. “He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” the president said. The U.S. sent dozens of aircraft to conduct the operation, Trump said.
Three Airmen from two USAF planes downed April 3 have now been safely recovered alive. Trump confirmed no Americans were killed in the rescue operation.
The crew member rescued April 5 was the weapons systems officer, and the crew member rescued earlier April 3 was the pilot, U.S. officials said.
Prior to locating the aviator and launching the rescue mission, “the CIA first launched a deception campaign spreading word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found him and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration out of the country,” a senior administration official said. The CIA then helped find the Airman and Trump decided to launch the rescue mission.
The aviator evaded capture for nearly two days before being rescued in a significant operation; the first crew member rescued was recovered within hours of the shootdown as Iranian forces fired at the U.S. rescue aircraft. An A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft and at least one rescue helicopter were struck by Iranian fire in that operation, and the A-10 pilot flew the damaged plane out of Iranian airspace before ejecting, U.S. officials said. All rescue helicopters involved in the April 3 operation landed safely.