This morning, US President Donald Trump announced in a triumphant post on Truth Social that the second US service member from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet has been rescued.
A frantic search began after the plane was shot down over Iran on Friday, with state media publishing photos of what they said were the plane’s wreckage and a damaged ejection seat that CNN analysis matched to that of an F-15E. The first crew member was rescued alive shortly after the crash.
President Trump touted the operation as “the first time in military memory that two U.S. military pilots were rescued separately deep in enemy territory.”
The exact details of this surprising operation are not yet clear. Here’s what we know and what we don’t know so far.
Two U.S. service members from a U.S. F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran on Friday have been rescued. The first person was rescued immediately after the accident and is currently receiving medical treatment.
The second soldier, a colonel, “suffered injuries,” Trump said, adding that he would be “okay.”
President Trump said the rescue operation involved dozens of planes carrying “the most lethal weapons.” There were no casualties among U.S. soldiers during the rescue, he added.
The rescue prevented the crew from becoming a “strategic bargaining chip” for Tehran, as CNN national security analyst Alex Pritsas pointed out.
The exact details of the rescue operation and where it took place are not known. Pritsas said the operation could go down as “one of the most tragic rescue operations in U.S. military history.”
It remains unclear whether the United States lost more aircraft in this operation. In an attempt to undermine President Trump’s moment of victory, Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency claimed that “several enemy American military aircraft” had been destroyed in the Isfahan region.
“Enemy aircraft that entered the southern part of Isfahan, including two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport aircraft, were attacked and are now on fire,” the report said.
Several Iranian official media outlets released videos purporting to show the remains of the plane smoking in the desert. CNN cannot confirm its authenticity and has contacted the U.S. military for comment.
The exact location and identity of the second soldier remains unknown. President Trump said the U.S. military was monitoring his location 24 hours a day and was “devotingly planning his rescue.”
Questions remain about the nature of the injuries, as ejection from a military aircraft can cause extreme shock and trauma to the crew. Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath previously told CNN that this is “a very violent thing that happens to your body.”
Despite many in Iran calling for the immediate capture of the second downed American crew member and authorities offering a bounty for anyone who finds and hands him over, he evaded capture by enemy forces for almost two days. The airman had contact with the U.S. military as early as Friday, CNN chief security analyst Jim Schutt said.
CNN’s Danya Gainor, Jessie Yeung and Kit Maher contributed reporting.
