U.S. special forces have rescued the second crew member of the F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iran, three U.S. officials tell Axios.
The shootdown was a nightmare scenario for the U.S. military, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also racing to locate the missing U.S. officer in Southwest Iran over the past 36 hours. Both crew members were rescued in special forces operations inside Iran.
One of the U.S. officials said Saturday’s operation was conducted by a specialized commando unit with a high volume of air cover, that the U.S. forces unleashed a hail of heavy fire, and that all of the forces were now out of Iran.
According to two sources, the F-15 pilot and weapons systems officer both made contact via their comms systems after ejecting on Friday.
The pilot was rescued several hours after the plane was shot down. During that rescue operation, Iran struck a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter, wounding crew members, but it was able to fly on.
It took more than a day to locate and rescue the second crew member.
On Saturday, the second crew member was located and a rescue operation began – with the IRGC also sending forces to the region to prevent it.
President Trump and senior members of his team followed the rescue operation from the White House Situation Room.
U.S. Air Force jets conducted strikes against Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the area, the sources said.
@Axios