&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Let’s go’: Newly declassified videos show dramatic rescue of US Air Force officers downed in Iran")
Newly declassified footage has revealed dramatic moments from two separate US military rescue missions in Iran, showing how American Air Force officers were brought to safety after their F-15E fighter jet was shot down during a mission in April. The footage had been obtained by 60 Minutes, offers a rare look at the high-risk operations carried out deep inside Iranian territory. The two officers was named "Alpha" and "Bravo" ejected after their fighter jet was shot down. They ultimately landed about 5 miles apart from each other in a mountainous region south of Isfahan, with Iranian forces actively hunting them.
Declassified footage shows the risky daytime mission to rescue Alpha eight hours after he ejected. The US sent in 21 aircraft to get him out. Another declassified video on an infrared feed shows the dramatic moment that weapon systems officer Bravo was rescued, roughly two days after the fighter jet was shot down. Footage shows two elite USAir Force pararescuers advancing toward Bravo, grabbing him and safely bringing him back to an American helicopter.
Bravo was badly wounded when he ejected. his parachute was damaged and he plummeted to the ground. Despite a broken back and other injuries, he climbed a 7,000-foot ridgeline to await rescue. In his first-ever interview, Bravo said seeing his rescuers “was one of the greatest moments of [his] life. What did he tell them when he saw them? Let's go."
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How was the rescue mission executed?
Two US officials told CNN earlier in April that the risky rescue operation involved American military and intelligence personnel. The special operations forces carried out the successful rescue mission, while CIA operatives mounted a deception campaign beforehand to throw off potential Iranian captors. CIA operatives circulated the information inside Iran that both crew members had been recovered to confuse Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members who were frantically themselves looking to capture the downed officer. Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos extracted the ejected US F-15E pilot from Iran. Meanwhile, Israel postponed some planned strikes in Iran to ensure a smooth search and rescue operation besides offering intelligence support.
The CIA ultimately identified the officer’s exact location and shared the information with the military. At a remote airstrip in Iran, two MC-130J special operations transport aircraft had been waiting to take the commandos and the rescued airman out of the country. But they had been damaged during the operation. The military decided to send in new planes and blew up the damaged ones to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands. “WE GOT HIM!” President Trump wrote on social media after spending Saturday monitoring the operation from the White House. “Over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History,” he said.
