US Forces Extract Downed Pilot From Iran

U.S. forces rescued a missing crew member from an F-15E fighter jet that was shot down over Iran on Friday , with the recovery completed early Sunday morning local time, according to President Trump. The announcement followed a multi-stage search-and-rescue effort that unfolded across the weekend and involved air and ground assets operating in and around Iranian territory.

Officials described the final operation as a large-scale mission that used hundreds of special forces personnel and dozens of aircraft. The recovery ended in a firefight with Iranian troops, officials said, before the missing service member was secured and moved out of the area. The rescued officer was then flown to Kuwait for treatment of injuries.

The second crew member from the same F-15E had already been recovered earlier on Friday. During those initial efforts, a U.S. helicopter carrying the rescued pilot came under small arms fire, injuring crew members, though the aircraft landed safely, officials said. The search also involved an A-10 Warthog that was damaged; its pilot ejected over the Persian Gulf and was later recovered.

After the airman was recovered, officials said two U.S. transport planes became stranded at an Iranian base. Three additional aircraft were sent to extract the rescue troops and the officer. The two stranded transport planes were subsequently destroyed to prevent their capture by Iran, officials said.

The incident was described as a rare combat loss for U.S. tactical aviation. Officials said it is the first time a U.S. fighter jet has been shot down in combat in more than 20 years, excluding a friendly-fire incident in March in which three F-15s were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses. The sequence of events places renewed attention on the risks surrounding air operations, personnel recovery, and escalation management when aircraft go down in contested environments.

Key details remain limited in the public account, including the precise circumstances of the shootdown, the location of the recovery, and the extent of injuries sustained by the rescued officer and the helicopter crew members. Officials also did not provide further information on the Iranian base where the transport planes became stranded, or on the condition and disposition of other aircraft involved in the mission beyond those described.