Donald Trump has announced the rescue of a second US airman who went missing after his F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran. The president described the operation as “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History”, saying the injured colonel was extracted from rugged mountainous terrain while being hunted by Iranian forces.
The airman, a Weapons Systems Officer, survived behind enemy lines for days using specialist survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE) techniques. He climbed to higher ground away from the wreckage and activated an emergency beacon to guide rescuers. Trump confirmed the pilot of the jet had been recovered earlier in a covert operation, but that news was withheld to protect the second rescue effort.
The downing of the F-15E on Friday marked the first American aircraft losses since the conflict began, with a US A-10 Warthog also shot down by Iranian forces. Trump earlier claimed US forces had “terminated” several Iranian military leaders, sharing footage of an airstrike targeting senior IRGC commanders.
Iran had placed a $60,000 bounty on US personnel and urged locals to track down the missing airman. Broadcasters urged civilians to capture the pilot, promising a “precious prize”, while screens flashed warnings to “shoot them if you see them”. Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf mocked Washington’s war effort, saying the conflict had been downgraded from “regime change” to searching for pilots.
US officials said the rescue was “very complex”, involving multiple branches of the military. Several Iranian troops were reportedly killed or wounded during the firefight, while no US personnel died. Earlier rescue attempts were hampered when two American helicopters were struck by Iranian fire, leaving crew members injured.
