US military releases footage showing rescue of airman stranded in Iran for nearly two days

IRAN: The US military has released dramatic footage showing parts of a massive April operation to rescue an injured American airman stranded deep inside Iran.

The F-15E Strike Eagle crew member, identified as Dude 44 Bravo, suffered a broken back, arm and shoulder after ejecting from the fighter and remained stranded for nearly two days.

The newly released video shows US helicopters searching for Bravo, military aircraft striking Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces near his position and the moment two Air Force pararescue operators reached him on a mountain ridgeline on April 5.

F-15E crew ejects after fighter is shot down in Iran

The operation began after an F-15E Strike Eagle, call sign Dude 44, was shot down by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile.

The two-man crew ejected from the fighter but landed miles apart inside Iran. The pilot, known as Dude44 Alpha, was rescued after a little more than six hours. Bravo, the backseat weapons systems officer, faced a much longer wait.

A damaged parachute caused Bravo to make a hard landing, leaving him with a broken back, arm and shoulder.

Despite his injuries, he moved away from his landing site and began climbing toward a roughly 7,000-foot ridgeline. As daylight arrived, the desert valley and cliffs around him became visible. Meanwhile, American forces were working to find his location and bring him out.

US forces search for injured airman as Iran closes in

The newly released footage shows US military helicopters searching for Bravo as the rescue effort continued. American bombers and drones also struck Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces that were in proximity to the stranded airman.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Dan Caine told CBS News that “there was clear intent out of the Iranian ground force to come find those two guys.”

The rescue effort eventually reached the mountain ridgeline where Bravo was waiting. Two elite Air Force pararescue operators, known as PJs, reached him on April 5.

Two large search-and-rescue aircraft had first landed on a makeshift desert runway before smaller “Little Bird” helicopters flew toward Bravo's position. When Bravo finally saw the rescuers, he described it as “one of the greatest moments of my life.”

“Let's go,” he recalled telling them.

92 US service members land inside Iran for rescue

The second rescue operation involved 92 US service members on the ground in Iran. It marked the first time American forces had boots on the ground in the country since 1980.

Hundreds more supported the operation from the air, while between 3,000 and 5,000 service members supported the mission overall, according to US Central Command Commander Adm Brad Cooper.

But reaching Bravo was not the end of the operation. The landing gear of the two rescue aircraft became trapped in the desert sand, leaving Bravo and more than 90 US service members stranded inside Iran.

A clandestine Air Force unit was ultimately brought in to extract the group, according to CBS News.

US airman finally reaches safety after nearly 50 hours

Bravo was finally brought to safety roughly 50 hours after Dude 44 was shot down.

The newly released footage offers a look at the scale of the rescue, from the search for the injured airman to the arrival of the pararescue operators and the difficult extraction that followed.

The rescue was completed as the sun rose on Easter Sunday, bringing an end to a mission that had kept Bravo stranded inside Iran for nearly two days after the fighter went down.