The US military released dramatic new video on Tuesday showing parts of one of the largest combat search-and-rescue operations in its history, including the moment elite Air Force pararescue operators reached a badly injured American airman stranded deep inside Iran.
The footage documents portions of the massive April operation to rescue the two-man crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle, call sign Dude 44, after the fighter was shot down by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile.
The pilot, known as Dude44 Alpha, and the backseat weapons systems officer, Dude44 Bravo, ejected from the aircraft and landed miles apart, leaving both stranded inside Iran.
While Dude44 Alpha was rescued after a little more than six hours, Dude44 Bravo suffered a broken back, arm and shoulder after a damaged parachute led to a hard landing.
He remained stranded for nearly two days before US forces reached him.
The newly released video shows US military helicopters searching for Bravo as American forces worked to locate and recover him.
Despite his injuries, Bravo moved away from his landing site and began climbing toward a roughly 7,000-foot ridgeline as daylight revealed the desert valley and steep cliffs surrounding him.
The footage also shows American bombers and drones striking Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces that were in close proximity to Bravo.
“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.”
“Let’s go,” he recalled telling them.
The second rescue operation put 92 US 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 US 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 US 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 US 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.
