(SeaPRwire) – On Sunday morning, President Donald Trump announced that a U.S. aviator had been rescued almost 48 hours after being shot down over Iran.
The successful retrieval followed an intense search operation in a remote, mountainous area of Iran. A second crew member from the F-15E Strike Eagle was rescued on Friday, shortly after the aircraft crashed. This incident marked the first U.S. plane to be shot down by Iranian forces since the commencement of the war by the U.S. and Israel on February 28.
“This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!”
Here’s what we know about the rescue:
Frantic search conducted behind enemy lines
Trump stated that the first airman’s rescue on Friday was carried out in “broad daylight.” The White House refrained from publicly confirming this success to protect the ongoing search for the second aviator, which took place overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
According to Trump, that overnight mission involved “dozens of aircraft” equipped with lethal weapons. Iran had reportedly offered a substantial reward for the capture of the service member.
Trump said that throughout the incident, the U.S. had been tracking the downed airman’s position “24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue.”
“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,” he wrote.
Pilot wounded but expected to recover
Trump revealed that the rescued airman was a colonel who had sustained serious injuries. However, the President expressed confidence that he would be “just fine.”
No information was provided regarding the condition of the first crew member.
The US destroyed 2 planes during the getaway
Iranian state television broadcast an image of black smoke, claiming it showed a destroyed American transport plane and two helicopters.
A regional intelligence official with knowledge of the mission reported that a technical failure forced the U.S. military to deploy extra aircraft to complete the rescue. The official, who spoke anonymously due to the mission’s covert nature, said the U.S. destroyed two transport planes that had to be abandoned because of the malfunction.
Iran says it downed another plane
On Friday, Iranian state media also claimed that a second U.S. aircraft, an A-10, crashed after being struck by Iranian forces. The U.S. military has not issued any statement on the status of that plane or its crew.
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