US television programme 60 Minutes broadcast declassified footage early Monday documenting part of a major rescue operation to recover a US Air Force officer after Iran shot down his fighter jet over Iranian territory last April, leaving him behind enemy lines for nearly 50 hours.
The programme revealed that more than 90 US military personnel took part in the operation on the ground, supported by hundreds of personnel in the air and thousands more across support teams, as US forces raced to locate the officer before Iranian forces found him.
The officer, identified by the call sign “Bravo”, was the weapons systems officer aboard an F-15E fighter jet. He ejected after the aircraft was struck by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile during a mission targeting facilities linked to Iran’s drone and missile programmes near Isfahan.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Bravo said he hit the ground at an estimated speed of between 70 and 100 miles per hour after his parachute was damaged. He suffered fractures to his back, arm and shoulder before moving away from the crash site and attempting to hide in rugged mountainous terrain.
While US forces were able to rescue the aircraft’s pilot, known as “Alpha”, during a daytime raid, they were initially unable to locate Bravo.
Bravo later succeeded in sending a message back to US forces, reporting his injuries and confirming that he was continuing to move.
The declassified footage revealed that the CIA also took part in the search, conducting a deception operation intended to mislead Iranian forces while using classified technology to help determine the officer’s location.
US bombers and drones also carried out strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces near the area where Bravo was hiding in order to secure the rescue operation.
Bravo was found on the third day after a rescue team reached him using small aircraft and helicopters. He was flown out of Iran roughly 50 hours after his fighter jet was shot down.
The officer described the moment he saw the rescue team as “one of the greatest moments of his life”.
According to 60 Minutes, the US force encountered another problem during its withdrawal when the wheels of two rescue aircraft became stuck in sand at a temporary desert landing strip.
The US military subsequently destroyed the two aircraft and the helicopters used in the mission to prevent their technology from falling into Iranian hands.
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