US EditionThe Rescue Mission that Brought 2 F-15E Strike Eagle Crew Members Home
A massive rescue force used 155 aircraft and special operations teams to recover the second crew member after the jet was hit by a shoulder-fired missile.
- On Easter Sunday, U.S. forces successfully recovered the F-15E weapons system officer, call sign Dude-44 Bravo, from Iranian territory, concluding a complex rescue operation that followed the pilot's recovery Friday afternoon.
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defenses shot down a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle over western Iran on Good Friday, April 3, 2026, during Operation Epic Fury, a joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign.
- Supported by 155 aircraft including bombers, fighters, and refueling tankers, the rescue task force launched overnight April 4-5 while the CIA used infrared imagery and deception tactics to locate the weapons system officer.
- No U.S. personnel were injured during the operation, though two MC-130J Commando II transports were destroyed in-place after becoming stuck in soft sand, marking the first successful combat personnel recovery from Iranian territory.
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine stated these operations reflect the nation's "most sacred obligation" to leave no one behind, demonstrating the military's capacity to execute deep-territory rescues under constant threat.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Military Times
Air Force TimesThe rescue mission that brought 2 F-15E Strike Eagle crew members home
At 4:40 a.m. local time on Friday, a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, call sign Dude 44, was downed over southwestern Iran. Both crew members ejected, landing miles apart behind enemy lines. What followed was what President Donald Trump, speaking at a White House press conference on Monday, called “one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat search-and-rescue missions ever attempted by the military.”The following is a chronological…
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sgtreport.comWhat The Hell Happened With The Rescue Of The F-15E WSO In Iran?
By Larry C. Johnson, Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity | April 06, 2026 Iran’s air defense system succeeded on Friday, April 3, in downing a US F-15E over Iran. There is some dispute and confusion about the exact location (more about that later). The pilot and the WSO (i.e., Weapons System Officer) both successfully ejected but were separated. The pilot was quickly rescued by the Combat Search and Rescue (i.e., CSAR) and the two Pave H…
F-15E Strike Eagle Shot Down Over Iran: Two Dramatic Rescues
They went back into denied airspace, under pressure, under fire, and pulled a wounded colonel off a mountain while everything around him was closing in. #F15E, #StrikeEagle, #USAirForce, #CSAR, #CombatRescue, #IranConflict, #SpecialOperations, #RescueMission, #MilitaryNews, #AirPower
‘God Is Good’ — The Two Words That Ended 48 Hours of Hell in Iran – Jeffrey Lord
America showed the world what it’s made of… On Easter Sunday, as the sun broke over the mountains of Iran, an American Air Force colonel — known to the world only by his call sign, Dude Bravo 44 — was lifted from a crevice in the rocks where he had spent nearly two days bleeding, hiding, and refusing to die. He had been shot down on Good Friday. He had survived alone in hostile territory, hunted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces and their dog…
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