Hat tip to USAF Search and Rescue.
| See also here for the first after action report from SOF News. |
Follow up from yesterday's story
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🚨🇺🇸Pentagon Deploys Special Forces for Downed F-15E Pilot Search:
U.S. special forces are conducting a high-risk combat search-and-rescue operation in southwestern Iran to locate a missing crew member from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle.
One of the two-person crew has already been successfully rescued and is receiving medical care.
The second crew member reportedly the weapons systems officer remains unaccounted for in hostile territory.
The operation involves U.S. special operations teams, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, F-35 fighter jets, and MQ-9 Reaper drones, among other assets.
Iranian military forces and local militias are also actively searching the area. Iranian state media and officials have reportedly offered a substantial reward for the capture of the missing American airman.
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🚨 Reports from locals speaking to Iranian media indicate that Islamic Republic forces are transferring large numbers of dead and wounded IRGC troops, along with Basij terrorists, from Black Mountain to Dehdasht Hospital.
The casualties reportedly follow USAF strikes targeting IRGC Ground Forces that advanced during an active U.S. rescue operation for a downed pilot.
Significant IRGC losses are being reported.
Yet more:
More for informational purposes
Fox: US forces locate and evacuate downed airman [WEPS] in Iran
DM: Second US airman from downed jet has been rescued from Iran - reports
DM: As the Iranians closed in, an elite unit of American rescue troops - under heavy fire - swooped to grab the stranded pilot: IAN GALLAGHER
NYPost: US Forces have rescued missing crew member of F-15E jet downed by Iran in daring mission, intense fighting: reports
US forces have successfully rescued and extracted the missing crew member of an American fighter jet that was shot down over Iran following “one of the most daring search-and-rescue operations” in the country’s history, President Trump announced early Sunday.
“WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!” Trump posted on Truth Social just after midnight.
The Air Force officer — a weapons specialist who has not yet been publicly identified — was one of two aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down on Friday. Both had ejected over southwestern Iran, triggering a massive high-risk rescue mission.
The weapons officer was injured during the ejection, but was still able to walk, a US official told Axios.
“He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” Trump said.
The crew member was recovered in a dangerous Saturday night operation following intense fighting near the crash site, as US forces carried out a complex operation deep inside Iranian territory, according to Fox News.
No rescuers were injured during the massive, multi-domain operation involving hundreds of special operations troops, dozens of warplanes and helicopters and advanced intelligence capabilities spanning cyber and space, officials briefed on the operation told the New York Times.
A senior military official told the outlet that the mission was as one of the most challenging and complex in the history of US special operations.
The airman evaded capture for up to a day in mountainous terrain, using survival training to move away from the wreckage and hide on elevated ground while signaling for rescue. He had little more than a pistol as Iranian forces scoured the area and mobilized civilians to hunt him down, the Times reported.
“This brave Warrior 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, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue,” Trump added.
The airman and the rescue team that pulled him “from behind enemy lines in Iran are all safely out of Iran,” Fox reported, citing two senior US officials. They were flown to Kuwait, where the injured airman could be treated, according to the Times.
The operation unfolded amid reported airstrikes and clashes in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, where local officials said multiple people were killed or wounded, as US special operations forces and Air Force pararescue teams engaged in a fierce firefight with Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Basij fighters searching for the downed crew member.
US attack aircraft bombed and strafed Iranian convoys closing in on the airman’s position, while commandos pushed toward the site —- triggering a firefight as American and Iranian forces collided.
In a dramatic final twist, two US transport planes sent to extract the team became stranded at a remote base inside Iran.
Commanders ordered them destroyed rather than risk sensitive equipment falling into enemy hands, flying in replacement aircraft to complete the escape, the Times reported.
Iranian forces had been searching for the pilot and at one point claimed he had been captured, though those assertions were never verified, with reports that local forces and even civilians had been mobilized to hunt for the airman.
Two US rescue helicopters were hit by enemy fire during the mission, injuring crew members, while an A-10 attack aircraft providing cover was also struck and later went down after the pilot safely ejected.
Both F-15E crew members are now safely recovered following the dramatic mission.
The downed F-15E weapons systems officer relied on survival training to evade capture after ejecting over Iran, moving away from the wreckage and climbing to an elevated ridge to hide while signaling for rescue, according to reporting aggregated from Fox News and accounts cited by journalists.
He activated an emergency locator beacon and later established contact with US forces via encrypted radio, a detail reported by The Aviationist.
During the evasion, Iranian authorities and local actors mobilized to find him, with merchant groups offering a roughly $60,000 reward and officials urging civilians to assist in the search.
The airman remained on the run for roughly 15 to 24 hours before being recovered, officials told Fox News.
Reuters: US rescues airman as Trump, Israel pressure Iran ahead of deadline
The U.S. rescued an airman missing from one of two warplanes downed in Iran, two U.S. officials said, as President Donald Trump and Israel stepped up pressure on Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on energy facilities.
The officials did not provide further details to Reuters late on Friday about the airman. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND! This brave Warrior 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, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue. At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation. This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND! The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies. This is a moment that ALL Americans, Republican, Democrat, and everyone else, should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal Military in the History of the World. GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS, AND HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!
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