The U.S. military on Tuesday released striking new footage from what officials describe as one of the largest combat search-and-rescue missions in American history, capturing the moment elite Air Force pararescue troops reached a severely injured U.S. airman stranded far inside Iran.
The video offers a glimpse of the sprawling April rescue effort launched after an F-15E Strike Eagle crew, operating under the call sign Dude 44, was brought down by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile.
The jet’s pilot, identified as Dude44 Alpha, and its backseat weapons systems officer, Dude44 Bravo, ejected from the aircraft and came down miles from each other, leaving both men isolated on Iranian territory.
Dude44 Alpha was recovered just over six hours later. Bravo’s ordeal lasted far longer: A malfunctioning parachute caused him to land hard, leaving him with a broken back, arm and shoulder. He remained trapped for nearly 48 hours before American forces could reach him.
Newly released U.S. military footage shows Air Force pararescue operators arriving at a mountain ridgeline to reach Dude44 Bravo, who spent nearly two days injured and stranded inside Iran. (U.S. Air Forces Central)
In the newly released footage, U.S. helicopters sweep the area as American personnel work to identify Bravo’s position and mount a recovery mission.
Though seriously wounded, Bravo left the area where he landed and began making his way toward a ridgeline about 7,000 feet high. As daylight arrived, the scale of the challenge became clear, with a desert valley and steep cliffs surrounding him.
The video also depicts U.S. bombers and drones targeting Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces operating near Bravo’s location.
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 video then shows the dramatic moment on April 5 when two elite Air Force pararescue operators, known as PJs, reached the injured Bravo on the mountain ridgeline.
Two large search-and-rescue aircraft had landed on a makeshift desert runway before smaller “Little Bird” helicopters flew toward Bravo’s position on the ridgeline.
Bravo called the moment he saw his rescuers “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)