The U.S. military on Tuesday released dramatic footage from one of the largest combat search-and-rescue missions in its history, including the moment elite Air Force pararescue operators reached a badly injured American airman stranded deep inside Iran.
The video captures portions of the massive April mission to rescue the two-man crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle, call sign Dude 44, after an Iranian shoulder-fired missile brought down the fighter.
The pilot, identified as Dude44 Alpha, and the rear-seat weapons systems officer, Dude44 Bravo, ejected from the aircraft and landed miles apart, leaving both men stranded in Iran.
Dude44 Alpha was rescued after slightly more than six hours. Bravo, however, suffered a broken back, arm and shoulder when his damaged parachute caused him to make a hard landing. He remained stranded for nearly two days before U.S. forces reached him.
Newly released U.S. military footage shows Air Force pararescue operators reaching Dude44 Bravo on a mountain ridgeline after the injured airman spent nearly two days stranded inside Iran. (U.S. Air Forces Central)
The newly released footage shows U.S. helicopters scanning the area for Bravo as American forces raced to find and recover him.
Despite his injuries, Bravo moved away from where he landed and started climbing toward a ridgeline roughly 7,000 feet high. As daylight broke, the desert valley and its surrounding steep cliffs came into view.
The video also depicts U.S. bombers and drones striking Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces operating near Bravo’s position.
U.S. military helicopters search for Dude44 Bravo during a major combat search-and-rescue mission after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran in April. (U.S. Air Forces Central)
“There was clear intent out of the Iranian ground force to come find those two guys,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told CBS News this week.
The footage then captures the pivotal moment on April 5 when two elite Air Force pararescue operators, known as PJs, reached the injured airman on the mountain ridgeline.
Two large search-and-rescue aircraft had touched down on a makeshift desert runway before smaller helicopters, known as “Little Birds,” flew toward Bravo’s location on the ridgeline.
Bravo later described seeing the rescuers as “one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Newly released military footage shows U.S. bombers and drones striking Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces near Dude44 Bravo as American forces worked to rescue the stranded airman. (U.S. Air Forces Central)
“Let’s go,” he recalled telling them.
The second rescue operation put 92 U.S. service members on the ground in Iran, marking the first time American forces had boots on the ground in the country since 1980.
Hundreds of U.S. service members also supported the operation from the air, while between 3,000 and 5,000 service members supported the rescue mission overall, according to U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper.
But the operation was not over once Bravo was reached.
The landing gear of the two rescue aircraft became trapped in the desert sand, stranding Bravo and more than 90 U.S. service members inside Iran. A clandestine Air Force unit was ultimately brought in to extract the group, CBS News reported.
Bravo was finally brought to safety roughly 50 hours after Dude 44 was shot down. The rescue was completed as the sun rose on Easter Sunday.
Two elite Air Force pararescue operators, known as PJs, reached the badly injured Dude44 Bravo on a roughly 7,000-foot ridgeline inside Iran. (U.S. Air Forces Central)
