U.S. special operations forces rescued the second crew member from a downed F-15E fighter jet in Iran after a “heavy firefight,” successfully extracting both airmen and all rescue personnel from the country, according to multiple reports.
U.S. officials told Axios and Fox News the high-risk combat search-and-rescue mission recovered the weapons systems officer more than a day after the aircraft was shot down, concluding a complex operation that unfolded behind enemy lines.
Officials described the shootdown as a “worst-case scenario,” with U.S. forces racing to recover the crew before Iranian units could capture them.
The second crew member was located on Saturday, triggering a rescue effort as Iranian forces, including elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also raced to the area to locate the downed airman.
U.S. air assets conducted strikes to prevent Iranian forces from closing in, while special operations units on the ground executed a layered extraction under fire.
The weapons systems officer had evaded capture after ejecting alongside the pilot, using Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training to move away from the wreckage and take cover on elevated terrain while activating an emergency beacon, according to reporting cited by Fox News.
There was fighting on the ground during the mission, though no U.S. personnel were killed, according to sources familiar with the operation.
Two rescue helicopters were struck by enemy fire during Friday’s operations, wounding crew members, but both aircraft remained operational and exited Iranian territory.
Additional aircraft supported the mission, including an A-10 Warthog that provided cover for rescue teams before later crashing in Kuwait, with the pilot ejecting safely and being recovered.
The pilot of the F-15E had been rescued hours after the jet was downed Thursday night — early Friday local time — in southwest Iran, while the second crew member remained missing for more than 24 hours, prompting an intensive search effort.
Both airmen were able to establish communication after ejecting, aiding U.S. forces in locating and recovering them.
Earlier reports from Al Jazeera had indicated the second crew member had been recovered following a “heavy firefight” but had not yet been safely extracted, as the operation remained ongoing inside Iranian territory at the time.
Strikes and reported clashes were observed in and around Dehdasht, near where the aircraft was downed, with initial reports indicating casualties and an active operational environment as U.S. forces moved to recover the missing airman.
Iranian authorities had also been searching for the downed crew member in the days prior, including calls for civilians to assist in locating him.
President Donald Trump confirmed the operation in a statement early Sunday, declaring, “We got him!” and describing the mission as “one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history.”
Trump said the rescued crew member — identified as a colonel — had been “behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran,” adding that the airman is now “safe and sound” after sustaining injuries.
The president said he directed the deployment of “dozens of aircraft” equipped with “the most lethal weapons in the world” to carry out the mission, while senior military leadership monitored the operation in real time.
He also revealed that the first pilot had been rescued earlier but that the operation was not immediately disclosed “because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation.”
“We will never leave an American warfighter behind,” Trump declared, adding that the successful recovery of both crew members without any U.S. fatalities demonstrated “overwhelming air dominance” over Iran.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.