US Special Forces on Sunday rescued the second crew member of the F-15 fighter jet downed by Iran, with President Donald Trump hailing what he described as “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US history”.
“WE GOT HIM! (sic),” announced Trump on his Truth Social platform, and heaped praise on the US military for pulling off ” one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History (sic).”
Declaring that the crew member rescued as a “highly respected Colonel”, Trump said that he was “thrilled to let you know [he] is now SAFE and SOUND!”
The US airman rescued on Sunday was the second member of a two-person crew of an F-15 that Iran claimed to have brought down on Friday.
Reuters reported earlier on Friday that the first member of the crew had been rescued, while a high-profile search had commenced for the remaining crew member by both Iran and the US.
Separately, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly referred to as a ‘Warthog’ in the US Air Force, was also brought down by Iran near the Straight of Hormuz, but the aircraft’s lone pilot was swiftly rescued, as per a report by The New York Times.
Details of the rescue effort
According to Trump, the crew member was being “hunted down”, with Iranian forces getting “closer and closer by the hour”.
Trump said that he, along with top officials, were continuously monitoring the US service member’s location.
“At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine (sic),” Trump said.
“This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation (sic),” Trump added, indirectly commenting on his silence about the downing of the aircraft in Iran.
“This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND! (sic),” the US President declared.
Trump also clarified that there were no US casualties during the rescue operation, saying, “The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies (sic).”
First US combat aircraft losses in over two decades
Iran’s downing of the F-15 fighter jet, as well as an A-10 Warthog ground attack plane marked the first losses of US combat aircraft in over 20 years.
The last confirmed downing of a US combat aircraft during an active mission dates back to 2003, when an A-10 was hit during the Iraq war.
Earlier, Iran had also announced the destruction of an E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft of the US Air Force in strikes on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, and reports suggest that second AWACS aircraft also sustained significant damage.
Separately, on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also claimed to have downed a US search and rescue aircraft that was looking for the second F-15 crew member. Details about the claimed downing of the aircraft, however, were not immediately available.
