When their F-15E fighter jet was shot out of the sky over southwestern Iran on Friday, the two crew members used their ejection seats – a last resort that exposes occupants to enormous G-forces and frequently suffers spinal fractures.
Washington immediately feared a repeat of the First Gulf War (1990-1991) – when no fewer than sixteen American pilots and crew fell into the hands of the Iraqis. Saddam Hussein’s regime then tortured some of them black and blue in front of the cameras, after which they were forced to speak out against the war. A trick that the Iraqis repeated during the American invasion in 2003.
For the embattled Iranian regime – which is already increasing the economic pain for the US every day through asymmetrical warfare – it would also be grateful propaganda material to be able to show an American soldier on state TV. In any case, the downing of the Strike Eagle called into question the ‘air superiority’ that the Americans and Israelis proclaimed soon after the start of the war.
After Friday’s crash, a race began between Tehran and Washington to find the F15 crew members. Both survived the crash, but ended up in different places in mountainous areas via their parachutes. The pilot was rescued after a few hours by the efforts of, among other things, low-flying American Black Hawk helicopters. A risky undertaking, because ground troops can even hit the aircraft with small arms. One of the helicopters would also have been damaged in this way.
The second crew member, the so-called weapons system officer, turned out to be untraceable. The US military then launched a massive search operation. The Israeli Air Force announced that it would no longer bomb the area to avoid hindering the rescue operation.
While Tehran put a bounty on the pilot’s head, American intelligence services within Iran spread the fake news that the second crew member had also been recovered by the US. according to news site Axios. In this way, they hoped that members of the Revolutionary Guard would prematurely abandon their own search for the American.
Ultimately, it was the CIA that managed to find the officer, reported The New York Times based on a US government source. Special, unspecified equipment would have been used. The crew member had a beacon to transmit his own location, but could not use it too often because the signal could also be picked up by the Iranians.
The American – a colonel according to Trump – was injured in the crash, but was still able to walk. Among other things, he climbed a ridge of approximately 2,000 meters and then hid in a crevasse, CNN said, citing two American government sources. American investigative journalist Michael Weiss designates an area under Isfahan, the country’s third largest city, as the crew member’s hiding place – deeper inland than initially thought.
Before rescue came, the officer – armed only with a pistol – had to hide in the mountains for about a day and a half. Since there is heavy resistance in the area where their plane crashed, it is possible that the crew member “could rely on locals for shelter and assistance,” according to The New York Times. The latter is not explicitly confirmed by American government sources.
Commandos deployed
Hundreds of American commandos and other personnel were then involved in the rescue operation that followed, according to reconstructions in American media. The mountainous terrain and the injuries of the stranded crew member made the endeavor difficult for the soldiers on the ground.
Iranian troops also got wind of the rescue operation and rushed to the area. American fighter planes kept them at bay with air strikes. In addition, American commandos tried to keep the Iranians at bay by shooting in their direction. But there would not have been any direct firefights.
Not everything about the mission went smoothly: two transport planes with which the commandos and the recovered air force officer were to depart were unable to take off after landing at an abandoned Iranian air base. They may have become stuck in the sand of a poorly maintained airstrip – after which they were blown up by the Americans to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.
Three new planes were flown in to evacuate the Americans. The injured airman was flown to Kuwait for medical treatment. Trump reports that there were no deaths or injuries on the American side. Iran, on the other hand, reports that it has shot down a US transport plane and two helicopters.
Trump repeats threat
Iranian state media states that the US is trying to hide possible American victims as well as material damage suffered, reports Iran expert Hamidreza Azizi on X. They even doubt whether the second crew member was actually saved.
In that sense, the events of this weekend underline that Iran is particularly difficult terrain for foreign armies, according to the optimists on the side of the Iranian regime. According to them, the US should brace itself if it actually starts an invasion of Iranian territory. And so the Iranian propaganda machine continues to run at full speed.
President Trump, on the other hand, appeared to be oozing with self-confidence after the successful operation. After reporting the news of the kite’s rescue on the American night from Saturday to Sunday, he posted a crudely worded threatening message on Truth Social on Easter Sunday morning.
Correction: In an earlier article the term gunner was used. That should be ‘weapon systems officer’.
