A U.S. crew member who went missing when an F-15E fighter jet was shot down over a remote area of Iran was rescued by U.S. forces early Sunday morning local time, multiple U.S. officials told CBS News. The jet’s pilot had been rescued Friday.
“WE GOT HIM!” President Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post. “My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!” The president said the officer “sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” and added that “at my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him.”
U.S. officials had said the F-15E was carrying a two-person crew when it was downed Friday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed credit for the strike, saying the jet was brought down in southwestern Iran. Photographs Iranian media released of wreckage that experts said appeared consistent with an American F-15 supported that account.
The F-15E’s pilot ejected and was rescued by two military helicopters on Friday, U.S. officials said, but the second crew member — a weapons system officer — remained missing. During Friday’s recovery efforts, the helicopter carrying the rescued pilot took small-arms fire, wounding some crew aboard, though it landed safely. An A-10 Warthog involved in the search was also hit and damaged; its pilot ejected over the Persian Gulf and was recovered.
Trump paused some operations in Iran to focus on the search and ordered hundreds of special operations forces to zero in on the missing airman’s locator beacon. U.S. commandos ultimately recovered the missing crew member in a complex mission that involved dozens of special forces personnel and several dozen warplanes and helicopters, a U.S. official and a White House official confirmed to CBS News. The New York Times first reported the recovery.
The rescued officer was flown to Kuwait for medical treatment, the officials said. The operation used bombs and weapons fire to keep Iranian forces away from where the missing crew member was believed to be hiding; while stranded he reportedly had only a handgun for self-defense. Two transport planes assigned to fly out rescue teams were unable to take off from a remote Iranian base and were destroyed to prevent their capture. Commandos left Iran aboard three additional aircraft that had been sent in; the three planes departed for Kuwait in close succession, and the mission concluded just before midnight with all U.S. forces clear of enemy airspace.
The CIA played a central role in the recovery, a senior Trump administration official said. The agency ran a deception campaign inside Iran telling people the airman had already been found and was being moved on the ground for exfiltration, while using its intelligence capabilities to locate him in a mountain crevice. The CIA shared the exact location with the Pentagon and the White House and continued to provide real-time tracking during the rescue.
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former F-16 pilot, told The Associated Press that the downing marked the first time a U.S. fighter jet had been shot down in combat in more than 20 years. At least four U.S. fighter jets have been shot down since the Iran war began Feb. 28, but the Pentagon said three of those were a friendly-fire incident. On March 1, three American F-15s were “mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” U.S. Central Command said; there were no casualties in that incident.
Until Sunday’s announcement, Trump had largely stayed quiet about the search. In a Friday interview with The Independent, he said he couldn’t comment on what he might do if the crew member were captured by Iran. In his Truth Social post, Trump said the administration’s earlier silence was intended to protect the missing officer, noting the U.S. military “did not confirm” Friday’s pilot rescue “because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation.”
On Saturday, Trump also warned Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face severe consequences, saying “all Hell will reign down on them.” The near-closure of the strait, which handles about 20% of global oil shipments, has contributed to a worldwide spike in fuel prices.
Layla Ferris and Tucker Reals contributed to this report.