The American president announced on Truth Social that the pilot suffered injuries, but will be fine. Experts interviewed by CNN International agree that this was a “remarkable” operation with many risks: “No one else could carry out something like the US Armed Forces did”
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Sunday that the second pilot who was shot down in Iranian airspace on Friday was rescued.
Trump wrote on social media that the pilot, missing since the plane crashed, is injured, suffered injuries but “will be fine.” He added that the rescue was a “challenging” operation that involved “dozens of aircraft” and that the US was monitoring the pilot’s location “24 hours a day and diligently planning his rescue.”
“He suffered injuries, but he will be fine. This miraculous search and rescue operation is in addition to the successful rescue of another brave pilot yesterday, which we have not confirmed so as not to compromise our second rescue operation,” Trump said. “This is the first time in military history that two American pilots have been rescued, separately, in enemy territory. We will never abandon an American fighter!”
Trump said the double rescue proves “air dominance and superiority over Iranian skies,” without mentioning how the F-15 was shot down by Iranian forces.
“This is a moment that all Americans, Republicans, Democrats and everyone in between, should be proud of and united in. We truly have the best, most professional and lethal Armed Forces in the History of the World. God bless America, God bless our troops and happy Easter to everyone!” Trump said, just minutes after midnight on Easter Sunday.
On Friday, the Iranian army announced that it had shot down an American fighter jet. Police, in a statement released by Iranian security forces, said the plane was shot down in the province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, in the southwest of the country. alive for the USA immediately after the incident. The fighter was the first US aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the start of the conflict on February 28.
An intense search and rescue operation was launched after the crash of the , while Iran also promised a reward for anyone who handed over the “enemy pilot”. The searches were concentrated in a mountainous region in the provinces of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, in southwestern Iran.
The operation was “remarkable”: “No one else could accomplish something like the US Armed Forces did”
The pilot contacted the US military on Friday in enemy territory, setting the stage for the dramatic rescue operation, CNN’s US security analyst cited sources. Sciutto said the U.S. military had “initial communications” with the man at noon ET that day, after which authorities intensified efforts to locate him.
“They also told me that he had initially been injured during the ejection, which obviously presented other difficulties, as they were concerned about getting him out safely and being able to treat his injuries,” he said. The operation was “remarkable”, Sciutto said, adding that it involved aircraft flying at low altitude to search for the soldier, which put them “at risk of being shot at”.
The US operation to rescue military personnel downed in Iran reportedly began the moment the Air Force confirmed the loss of an aircraft — requiring a massive joint operation between multiple branches of the Armed Forces and their partners, , senior military studies researcher at the Lowy Institute and retired major general of the Australian Army.
“The US Air Force, US Army Special Forces and a number of other organizations will have come together, planning the rescue operation and working out various options to rescue the two crew members,” he explained. “No one else in the world could accomplish something like the U.S. Armed Forces did.”
The operation faced the risks inherent in flying over Iranian territory, so US forces will have analyzed Iran’s air defense system when planning the rescue, Ryan said. But they had one advantage: after more than a month of war, Iran’s defense capacity was severely compromised. “There have been more than 10,000 missions so far, with only one fighter lost,” he added. “So I think, generally speaking, the U.S. air force has been quite successful (in suppressing Iranian air defenses).”
This would have been an “extremely dangerous” mission, emphasizing that the terrain in the area was mountainous and “in the middle of nowhere,” and that Iranian authorities had offered a reward for his capture. “He ejected himself. He is injured. He has very light equipment, that is, few rations, some water, and here he is, in the middle of nowhere, trying to escape several Iranians who were motivated by this offer”, explained the retired general. “Putting all of this together, it was extremely dangerous,” he concluded.
MacCarley also said that the soldier may have been located using an emergency beacon that sends signals to command headquarters after a fighter jet crashes. “The signal must have continuously emitted information about the location of this crew member.”
A series of unforeseen events could have occurred during the rescue mission, highlighting that the remote area is full of dust and dirt that can damage an aircraft’s engines and landing gear. The terrain is “quite rugged”, he explained. “Someone can get lost in a village and suddenly come face to face with a police officer,” he said. “These are the kinds of things, small or big, that can go wrong. And when they go wrong, it can be disastrous for the mission.”
The retired colonel said that a rescue mission like this usually requires a highly choreographed routine, where “every detail needs to work perfectly for everything to fall into place.” Technology capable of tracking the missing aviator also contributed to the success of a mission that would hardly have been possible decades ago.
