[Iran Crisis] Details of the F15E Fighter Pilot's Thrilling Rescue Revealed: SOS Message "God is good" Questioned, CIA "Deception Strategy," Enemy Nation Builds Temporary Base

The search-and-rescue operation for two pilots of the U.S. Air Force F-15E “Strike Eagle” fighter jet, known as the “Easter miracle,” is not “good luck” in the U.S. military’s operational system, but rather a highly rigorous and costly standardized engineering effort. This system is called Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR).

When a U.S. pilot crashes behind enemy lines, the entire U.S. military apparatus springs into action immediately. The rescue process typically consists of the following core steps:

1. The moment of the crash: automation alerts and survival

• Ejection and location: When the pilot ejects, the wireless radio beacon (Beacon) on the seat automatically activates, sending encrypted location coordinates and identification codes to satellites and warning aircraft.
• Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE): This is required training for the pilot. After landing, their first priority is to hide. They will use the terrain observed while descending under a parachute, quickly move away from the crash site (the enemy will search there immediately), find water, and dig in to conceal themselves.

2. Contact and identity verification

• Encrypted communications: The pilot carries a survival radio with frequency-hopping capability (such as AN/PRC-112 or a higher model) to establish contact with command aircraft in the air or with comrades.
• Identity authentication: To prevent the enemy from setting a trap, the rescue center will ask the pilot extremely personal questions (for example: the name of your high school gym teacher, the make/model of your first car). These answers are recorded in the pilot’s confidential file in advance—if they get even a single word wrong, the rescue operation will not be triggered.

3. Forming the “Rescue Task Force” (CSARTF)

The U.S. military will not send just one aircraft. A typical rescue mission usually includes:

• HH-60W “Mighty Green Giant” helicopter: The core rescue platform, responsible for getting the pilot out.
• HC-130J transport aircraft: Responsible for refueling the helicopter in the air to extend its range, and also serving as the on-scene command aircraft.
• A-10 attack aircraft or F-15E: Responsible for suppressing the enemy’s air defenses (SEAD), carrying out blanket strikes on any threatening targets in the vicinity when the helicopter is landing.
• Electronic warfare aircraft: To jam and make the enemy’s radars “blind.”

4. Key combat personnel: Pararescuemen (PJs)

This group is an exceptionally specialized branch within the U.S. military’s special operations forces, nicknamed “PJs.”

• They are advanced medics with combat capability.
• They enter the scene via helicopter rappel or parachute jump. Their first mission is to check whether the pilot has injuries and drag him onto the helicopter.
• If they cannot land at the scene, they use wire cables and grappling hooks to pull the pilot up onto the aircraft.

Setting up a temporary base inside Iran

There were two crew members on the F-15 fighter shot down last Friday by the United States; both ejected and escaped from the aircraft. One of them had previously been rescued by the U.S. military, and Trump said that this pilot’s rescue happened far faster—during daylight and amid Iran’s intense artillery fire. Trump did not confirm the other person’s safety until Sunday morning. Iranian officials said the aircraft was shot down by its air defense system.

In Washington, Trump spent Friday at the White House, moving back and forth between the Oval Office and the adjacent dining area, because the operation to find the downed U.S. Air Force personnel in Iran was getting underway and he was ready to receive the latest updates on the search mission for that officer at any moment.

Regarding the rescue of the second pilot, Trump described the daring U.S. rescue operation as a success and said it saved an Air Force personnel member who was “seriously wounded,” viewing it as a model of American success. Trump immediately posted, announcing, “We found him!” and detailed the “astonishing display of courage and talent,” turning a potential U.S. setback into a demonstration of strength.

Another U.S. Department of Defense official described the first operation on Friday as a “bold and quick snatch” in daylight, while the second operation was conducted at night after establishing a temporary base inside Iran. “The two crew members were several miles apart, and there were hundreds of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers everywhere.”

Trump said the pilot was in the harsh mountain region of Iran, being hunted by the enemy. The enemy was closing in every hour, but he was never truly left alone, because the Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary of War, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow servicemembers were monitoring his location 24 hours a day and actively planning the rescue of him.

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200 special operations troops took part in the operation

When Trump spoke to foreign media, he said about 200 special operations troops participated in the operation. Iran’s military was “just lucky (They got lucky)”; they used shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down the F-15.

Details of the rescue have continued to emerge, including how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) diverted the enemy’s attention through “deception operations.”

According to combined reports from foreign media, the crew member spent more than 24 hours alone. At one point, he climbed over rugged terrain to reach a ridge at an altitude of 7,000 feet. Other than a pistol, communications equipment, and a tracking beacon, he had almost nothing. The crew members of downed aircraft are highly trained for situations like this. Their top priority is to survive and avoid capture. Their training was—assuming their physical condition allows and they are not injured to the point where they can’t move—leave the ejection location as quickly as possible and keep themselves hidden to ensure safety.

CIA “deception plan”

The CIA spread information inside Iran through multiple channels, claiming that the U.S. military had already found the second Air Force personnel who ejected from the F-15 and was evacuating him by sea to take him out of Iran. In reality, this was to buy time in order to find the trapped Weapons Systems Officer (WSO)—the second pilot position in the fighter after the aircraft pilot.

According to sources, the CIA intercepted the distress signal and passed the intelligence to the Pentagon and the White House. The White House then ordered that a rescue mission begin immediately. Sources said that at first, some people worried that this “beacon signal” was a “trap” set by Iran.

Trump said the message he heard over the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say. Trump added that people who know the officer explained that he was a devout person, so it was reasonable that he said such words.

After the CIA confirmed early on Saturday morning that it was not a trap, it used advanced technological capabilities to pinpoint the location of the missing Air Force personnel. CIA Director John Ratcliffe informed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Kayne, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and ultimately briefed Trump.

Within 12 hours, the team had landed in Iran

Sources said: “In 8 hours, our aircraft were already launched. In nearly 12 hours, our people had already landed in Iran. We’ve seen how they treat prisoners of war before. We will do everything we can to ensure we find them first.”

Trump said the U.S. military sent dozens of aircraft into Iran, and claimed the operation was completed without any American casualties.

MQ-9 drone provides defense

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			▲  MQ-9 Reaper

A U.S. special operations team moved into the mountains, and as U.S. military aircraft dropped bombs to clear the area, the U.S. used an MQ-9 Reaper drone to secure the area around where the Air Force personnel was hiding and to fire at any targets approaching that area and the U.S. military operation zone, to prevent crowds or any Iranian military and civilians from getting close. Trump had been monitoring everything from the Situation Room.

A senior U.S. official said: “We used every kind of tactical fighter and B-1 bomber in the U.S. military inventory, conducting multiple large-scale strikes in the surrounding areas to ensure his safety.”

The air forces executing the CSAR mission included the most highly trained and most professional personnel in the military. These missions are typically carried out by helicopters. They fly low over enemy territory while other military aircraft in the area conduct strikes and patrols.

Iran puts a price on it: thousands pursue

Trump said at the time, “Thousands of savages were chasing him—civilians were looking for him too. They even offered a bounty for whoever could capture him.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that nomadic tribes living in mountainous areas of the country fired at and shot down two Black Hawk helicopters participating in the U.S. rescue mission.

Iranian media said Iran successfully shot down (or destroyed) several U.S. aircraft, including a C-130 military transport aircraft (some reports said it was a special-operations variant MC-130J “Commando II”) and at least two helicopters (said to be Black Hawks or MH-6 Little Bird helicopters).

A malfunction during evacuation: new aircraft dispatched for rescue

There were multiple setbacks during the operation, including two damaged U.S. special operations aircraft. The U.S. side had to destroy them on the ground in Iran during the mission. According to CNN, citing sources, at a remote runway in Iran, two MC-130J special operations transport aircraft had been waiting to take the assault team members and the rescued Air Force personnel out of the country, but at some point during the operation they were damaged. The military decided to send new aircraft and destroy the damaged aircraft instead of risking them falling into Iran’s hands.

Trump said that during the search and rescue of the two crew members, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) provided the U.S. military “a little” help: “They’ve always been great partners. They are great and brave people. We’re like the big brother and the little brother.” And a U.S. Department of Defense official said the Israelis did not provide any information about the location of the weapons systems officer, but they shared intelligence about the overall situation in the area. Israeli officials said the Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike to prevent Iranian forces from approaching the area.

Reports said Israeli intelligence helped the CIA determine the location of the missing weapons systems officer and ruled out concerns that Iran had set a “trap,” while stopping its attacks in the region to help with the mission. Another Israeli official said Israel delayed some pre-planned strikes against Iran to avoid interfering with the search and rescue efforts; according to two Israeli sources, Israel also provided intelligence support.

In a statement Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote: “All Israelis are glad for the fearless American fighters, in the incredible rescue of the brave American aviator.”