President Donald Trump announced on social media early Sunday that a U.S. Air Force colonel was rescued after his F-15 fighter jet was shot down in western Iran, following a daring search and rescue operation involving dozens of aircraft.
Key Takeaways
President Donald Trump announced that a U.S. Air Force colonel was rescued after his F-15 fighter jet was shot down in western Iran. The rescue operation involved dozens of aircraft and lasted over a day, with the colonel evading capture by hiding in treacherous mountains. According to Daily Mail, Tehran had placed a $60,000 bounty on the airman's head.
The officer sustained injuries but is expected to recover, according to Trump's post. The rescue operation took place after the colonel evaded capture for more than a day in enemy territory. He was one of two crew members who ejected when their jet was hit on Friday. The pilot was rescued shortly after the shoot down, but the colonel could not immediately be reached.
The U.S. military scrambled to launch a massive rescue operation involving dozens of aircraft armed with lethal weapons. Three of those rescue aircraft were also hit by Iranian fire, according to a U.S. official who spoke to NPR. One was an A-10 Warthog that managed to reach Kuwaiti airspace before the pilot ejected and was rescued.
The downing of the F-15E fighter jet marks the first time a U.S. fighter jet has been shot down in combat in over 20 years, according to retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell. Since the war with Iran started six weeks ago, 13 U.S. service members have died in airstrikes and an aircraft refueling crash in Iraq.
The stranded colonel, armed with just a pistol for protection, had been wounded after ejecting from his F-15 fighter jet over southern Iran on Friday. He hid in 'treacherous' mountains for 36 hours to evade capture by Iranian forces, according to Daily Mail. The airman trekked up a 7,000-foot ridgeline as U.S. aircraft dropped bombs and opened fire to keep an Iranian convoy away.
The rescue operation was hailed as 'miraculous' by Trump, who stated that the officer had 'sustained injuries but will be just fine.' Tehran had placed a $60,000 bounty on the weapons systems officer's head and was in a race with the U.S. to locate him.
How this summary was created
This summary synthesizes reporting from 4 independent publishers using AI. All sources are cited and linked below. NewsBalance is a news aggregator and media literacy tool, not a news publisher. AI-generated content may contain errors or inaccuracies — always verify important information with the original sources.