https://www.axios.com/2026/04/05/iran-f15-crew-member-rescued
Praise the Lord. You know his family is relieved
Praise the Lord. You know his family is relieved
2nd Crew Member of F-15 has been rescued
11,371 Views |
106 Replies |
Last: 17 hrs ago by KentK93
Right on! Thank God.
They are reporting that the rescue team that went and got this second crew member had to go up against some gunfire from the Iranians that it was pretty intense
God bless all of these brave and heroic warriors.
They tread on dangerous and deadly ground in the defense of freedom.
They tread on dangerous and deadly ground in the defense of freedom.
'Merica....F yeah!
I hope I did not offend anybody with this post. If I did, please come see me at my address in my profile so we can talk.
🚨 BREAKING: After an INCREDIBLY dangerous mission by US Special Forces, our downed F-15 WSO has been successfully RESCUED and EXFILTRATED following an intense firefight, a US official confirms to me
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 5, 2026
These guys are absolute HEROES.
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/HU9k6xFkf2
Happy Easter!
Heck yeah. Was hoping he was hold up with some Iranian farmers, but I'll take a military rescue!
LegalDrugPusher said:
They are reporting that the rescue team that went and got this second crew member had to go up against some gunfire from the Iranians that it was pretty intense
I think the truth is closer to the Iranians that were looking for him had to go up against some pretty intense gunfire from his rescuers.
پیام مخاطب:
— شارلا ماکس (@norbayuv) April 4, 2026
🚨 به شدت عرزشی ها و عشایری که رفته بودن کمک کشته شدن الان بیمارستان دهدشت افتضاح
Translation-
Audience message:
The Quake guys and nomads who had gone to help have been killed, the situation at Dehdasht Hospital is disastrous right now
flakrat said:
Heck yeah. Was hoping he was hold up with some Iranian farmers, but I'll take a military rescue!
Even if the rural folks were friendly to our guy (which is NOT a certainty by any measure), the IRGC would execute anybody they suspected of giving him aid. Probably execute whole families just to make a point.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
F15E SHOOTDOWN AND CSAR OPERATION — FULL VERIFIED BREAKDOWN
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 5, 2026
APRIL 3 — THE SHOOTDOWN
F15E from the 494th Fighter Squadron out of RAF Lakenheath is hit over southwestern Iran.
Crash site confirmed in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad Province near Dehdasht.
Wreckage includes ACES II… pic.twitter.com/SjElc0R4rv
Quote:
HOURS 12 TO 24
WSO moves into high elevation terrain.
Climbs to around 7,000 feet.
U.S. ISR tracks Iranian movement continuously.
MQ9 Reaper drones strike Iranian personnel approaching within roughly 3 km.
U.S. aircraft strike IRGC forces moving toward the area.
HOURS 24 TO 36
A10 INCIDENT
A10 supporting the mission is hit.
Pilot exits Iranian airspace, ejects over Kuwait, recovered safely.
CSAR AIR OPERATIONS
HC130 conducts aerial refueling missions.
Black Hawk helicopters take fire during rescue operations.
Aircraft return safely with some injuries onboard.
CIA DECEPTION OPERATION
CIA launches deception campaign inside Iran.
False reports spread that the WSO had already been recovered.
CIA locates the WSO and passes coordinates to U.S. leadership.
President Trump authorizes immediate rescue.
HOURS 36 TO 48 FINAL EXTRACTION
Large scale nighttime rescue launched.
U.S. special operations forces inserted.
WSO located and recovered alive after sustained evasion.
EXFIL COMPLICATIONS
MC130 aircraft land at remote airstrip inside Iran.
At least 2 aircraft become disabled on the ground.
Decision made to destroy them.
Aircraft blown to prevent capture of sensitive equipment.
U.S. assessment
Aircraft were self destroyed, not shot down.
Reports indicate a light helicopter was also lost at the site.
Replacement aircraft deployed.
All personnel extracted successfully.
Israel pauses airstrikes during the rescue.
Appears to be an accurate timeline. Droning the clowns within 3km must have been quite a sight, doing all this right beneath (or above) one of their major military installations we've been wrecking shop in (where their F-14 fleet had been located). Went a lot better than the last time we had to destroy a C-130 in Iran thanks to Jimmy Carter's pals.
🚨“WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Office Members, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I… pic.twitter.com/FNPWV6MPvA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 5, 2026
Wait, so you're saying our pilot could have just commandeered an F-14 and flown to safety?
> Injured US pilot in Iranian territory
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 5, 2026
> Pilot escapes, hides in a mountain
> Hunted by Iran's military for 2 days
> CIA throws IRGC off with fake intel
> US sets up remote base inside Iran
> Special Forces locate & extract him
> 0 US casualties, heavy IRGC losses pic.twitter.com/yelOmhsWwH
"A-10 Warthogs from the 355th Wing provided close air support, running gun passes on IRGC and Basij convoys advancing toward the WSO's position."
They made an impression I'm sure
They made an impression I'm sure
He climbed a ridge. That is where the story turns. When the F-15E was hit on Friday morning, both crew members ejected over the mountains of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in southwestern Iran. The pilot was located first and extracted by HH-60 rescue helicopters within… https://t.co/BuXKXVtqCB pic.twitter.com/IYomT32HOk
— Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ (@shanaka86) April 5, 2026
There's going to be so many movies about this. Such a screen-worthy story
The entire Irian response illustrates how badly the IRGC leadership and intelligence has be degraded. They could not find a downed American in their territory in 48 hours. If this had been Texas, there would have been hundreds of Texans searching who would have found the intruder and would have been back home in time for BBQ.
96AgGrad said:
Wait, so you're saying our pilot could have just commandeered an F-14 and flown to safety?
Zero doubt the movie plot crossed his mind. Unfortunately, we blew up all their F-14's though I believe.
Apparently used an old agricultural runway, which is pretty funny/cool, as well.
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) April 5, 2026
America - were better than the world at things We Don't even know about yet.
GD if our military isn't grade A BADASS.
Happy Easter. HE HAS RISEN.
GD if our military isn't grade A BADASS.
Happy Easter. HE HAS RISEN.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
LegalDrugPusher said:
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/05/iran-f15-crew-member-rescued
Praise the Lord. You know his family is relieved
Outstanding! Never give up!
96AgGrad said:
Wait, so you're saying our pilot could have just commandeered an F-14 and flown to safety?
you just know Tom Cruise in real life is planning this movie right now
waking up in Myrtle Beach this is amazing great news-
for all the practicing Christians for the Navigator to be shot down last Friday and wake up on Easter that he has been saved
wow
for all the practicing Christians for the Navigator to be shot down last Friday and wake up on Easter that he has been saved
wow
Story already has similarities to Behind Enemy Lines. From the beginning, I guess I was always surprised that the crewmen weren't found together. When one ejects, that doesn't trigger the second seat to eject as well? I know they were flying fairly low, but I would have thought on the way down they would have tried to steer their shutes towards one another the best they could to unite on the ground. Unless it happened at night. Just random thoughts...
I sure hope someone at DoW has thought that the Colonel's family should now be moved from their normal current location to somewhere safer!
they can't stay at their old address with who knows how many Hizbullah and IRGC terrorists still roaming around the USA
they can't stay at their old address with who knows how many Hizbullah and IRGC terrorists still roaming around the USA
Hobbes01 said:
Story already has similarities to Behind Enemy Lines. From the beginning, I guess I was always surprised that the crewmen weren't found together. When one ejects, that doesn't trigger the second seat to eject as well? I know they were flying fairly low, but I would have thought on the way down they would have tried to steer their shutes towards one another the best they could to unite on the ground. Unless it happened at night. Just random thoughts...
supposedly both seats did not eject at the exact same time so even one second could be 50 miles going that fast- and for CSAR and evasion probably better to NOT be together
Desert One in 1980 ended when a helicopter collided with a C-130 on a remote Iranian airstrip, killing eight Americans before the mission reached Tehran. Forty-six years later, C-130s were destroyed on Iranian soil again. This time the destruction was deliberate. This time the team got out. This time the man they came for came with them.
Hobbes01 said:
Story already has similarities to Behind Enemy Lines. From the beginning, I guess I was always surprised that the crewmen weren't found together. When one ejects, that doesn't trigger the second seat to eject as well? I know they were flying fairly low, but I would have thought on the way down they would have tried to steer their shutes towards one another the best they could to unite on the ground. Unless it happened at night. Just random thoughts...
Their chutes don't have steering capability. They go with the wind. And even if they landed close together they are trained to split up so that they can't both be captured easily by the enemy.
as i have stated before- we should TODAY have mossad and CIA
capture a high ranking IRGC leader and hold him to exchange for any of our POWs
capture a high ranking IRGC leader and hold him to exchange for any of our POWs
Quote:
Their chutes don't have steering capability.
Ours did.
But their lack of proximity is almost certainly just due to the speed and altitude at ejection
doubledog said:
The entire Irian response illustrates how badly the IRGC leadership and intelligence has be degraded. They could not find a downed American in their territory in 48 hours. If this had been Texas, there would have been hundreds of Texans who would have found the intruder and would have been back home in time for BBQ.
Iran's regime sent armed search parties hiking with flags to hunt the downed US pilot.
— Sarah Sizzle (@sizzle_sarah) April 5, 2026
They found nothing, of course.
Brave locals blocked their routes, and America rescued its pilot safely.
US forces always bring our people home. pic.twitter.com/8UcedHtisc
I cannot wait to see the parody of this video on Youtube.
"The op basically cost $300 million because they had to abandon the two AFSOC C-130s and the four MH-6 Little Birds. Then the U.S. Air Force had to use multiple bombs to blow up all the aircraft they abandoned at that airstrip. And the Iranians shot down 2 MQ-9s Reaper drones.… pic.twitter.com/xw5h2DkwwC
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) April 5, 2026
Please ignore the pedantic/infantile commentary about the cost in dollars of the equipment, but incredible to have such contingencies in place, and I love that they used a little bird (1 of 4 they rolled out from the hercs) to go get the WSO and bring back to the agricultural field.
Again, having the Dash-8's on standby for evac is great. Our 'Foxhounds.'
God is great! Happy Easter to all.
If I had a nickel for every time we left a C-130 on the ground in Iran during an exfil I'd have .15…which isn't a lot.
But is weird.
But is weird.
Featured Stories
See All
5:30
14h ago
4.5k
Baseball Thoughts: Gauntlet is about to ramp up
by Ryan Brauninger
Sims earns SEC Pitcher of the Week for Friday's gem
by Richard Zane
5:35
16h ago
2.8k
5:51
15h ago
3.0k
J.D. PicKell remains high on Texas A&M under Mike Elko
by David Nuño