U.S. military releases video of combat rescue of downed F-15E crew in Iran
The Pentagon disclosed footage of a large-scale combat search-and-rescue mission that recovered a severely injured airman after an F-15E was shot down over Iran earlier this year.
The U.S. military released video on Tuesday showing parts of a combat search-and-rescue operation that retrieved the crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down by an Iranian missile in April. The aircraft’s pilot was rescued after about six hours, while the weapons systems officer, who suffered a broken back, arm and shoulder, remained stranded for nearly two days before pararescue personnel reached him on a mountain ridgeline.
The footage includes helicopters searching for the injured airman, his movement toward a 7,000-foot ridge, and U.S. bombers and drones striking nearby Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told CBS News that Iranian ground forces appeared intent on locating the downed crew.
Two Air Force pararescue operators arrived on the ridge, and the airman later described seeing them as “one of the greatest moments of my life.” The rescue involved two large aircraft landing on a makeshift desert runway and smaller “Little Bird” helicopters ferrying the pararescuemen to the site.
More than 90 U.S. service members were on the ground during the operation, the first such presence in Iran since 1980, with hundreds supporting from the air and an overall force of 3,000 to 5,000 personnel. After the rescue team reached the injured airman, the landing gear of the rescue aircraft became stuck in sand, requiring a clandestine Air Force unit to extract the personnel. The airman was evacuated roughly 50 hours after the aircraft was downed, with the mission concluding at sunrise on Easter Sunday.