US forces rescue both F-15E crew members from Iran in separate covert operations involving CIA deception campaign

United States special forces successfully rescued both crew members of an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet shot down over southwestern Iran on Friday, 3 April 2026, President Donald Trump announced in the early hours of Easter Sunday, 5 April 2026. The double rescue, described by Trump as among the most daring search and rescue operations in United States military history, concluded a nearly 48-hour crisis that had raised the prospect of American prisoners of war being held on Iranian soil for the first time since the current conflict began.

The pilot of the F-15E was rescued on Friday by United States search and rescue personnel, while the second crew member, a weapons system officer, remained missing. The second crew member was the weapons system officer aboard the two-seat aircraft, which was downed by Iranian fire on Friday, 3 April 2026.

Trump announced the second rescue in a post on his Truth Social social media platform in the early hours of Sunday, writing that the United States military had carried out one of the most daring search and rescue operations in the country’s history. He identified the rescued officer as a highly respected colonel who is now safe and sound. Trump said he directed the United States military to send dozens of aircraft armed with the most lethal weapons in the world to retrieve the officer, and stated the crew member had sustained injuries but would be just fine.

How did the CIA help rescue the second F-15E crew member from behind enemy lines in Iran?

Prior to locating the aviator and launching the rescue mission, the CIA launched a deception campaign, spreading word inside Iran that United States forces had already found the crew member and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration out of the country. The CIA then helped find the airman, and President Trump decided to launch the rescue mission. While the deception operation was ongoing, the CIA used its capabilities to track the crew member in a mountain crevice. The CIA shared the crew member’s exact location with the Pentagon and the White House. The president ordered an immediate rescue mission, with the CIA continuing to provide real-time information throughout the operation.

The weapons system officer was wounded after ejecting from the aircraft on Friday but was still able to walk. He evaded capture in the mountains of southwestern Iran for more than a day, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also racing to locate the missing United States officer. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had sent forces to the region specifically to prevent a rescue. United States Air Force jets conducted strikes against Iranian forces to stop them from reaching the area. United States MQ-9 Reaper drones protected the crew member by striking Iranian military-aged males believed to be a threat who got within three kilometres of the airman.

The full rescue operation involved hundreds of special forces personnel and several dozen warplanes and helicopters. A senior administration official described the operation as the ultimate needle in a haystack, characterising the crew member’s location as a brave American soul hidden inside a mountain crevice, invisible but for the CIA’s capabilities.

What happened to the F-15E Strike Eagle and its crew when Iran shot it down on 3 April 2026?

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took credit for shooting down the F-15E Strike Eagle, alleging the jet was brought down in southwestern Iran on Friday morning. An outlet linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the jet was destroyed in the skies over central Iran by a new advanced air defense system of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force. Iranian authorities offered a reward of 10 billion tomans, approximately 60,000 United States dollars, for the capture of the American F-15E aircrew.

During Friday’s initial recovery effort for the pilot, two Black Hawk helicopters that were part of the rescue mission also took Iranian fire. There were injuries to some crew members, but they were able to return to safety. A United States A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft was also struck by Iran on Friday, forcing the pilot to eject. The pilot was able to navigate the aircraft out of Iranian territory before ejecting and was subsequently rescued.

Why does the F-15E shootdown over Iran mark a significant milestone in Operation Epic Fury?

The downing of the F-15E fighter jet marks the first time a United States fighter jet has been shot down in combat in over 20 years. The shootdown also marks the first confirmed loss of a manned American aircraft over Iranian territory since Operation Epic Fury began. At least four United States fighter jets have been shot down since the Iran conflict began on 28 February 2026, but three of those were in a friendly-fire incident on 1 March when three American F-15s were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses with no casualties.

The United States has lost 16 unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drones over the course of the conflict. The loss of the F-15E came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had claimed that an increase in air superiority had permitted large and relatively vulnerable B-52 Stratofortress bombers to conduct their first overland missions into Iran during the war. Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon’s name for the United States military campaign against Iran, began on 28 February 2026 with massive joint United States-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.

How did the broader Iran conflict escalate around the time of the F-15E rescue operation?

Iranian military officials warned that the gates of hell would open for the United States and Israel if infrastructure strikes continued, in response to Trump’s threat to unleash all hell if Tehran did not make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Monday. Fires were reported in Bahrain and Kuwait, while the United Arab Emirates said it was responding to a missile threat.

The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems had engaged 23 ballistic missiles and 56 drones from Iran in the period around the rescue. Since the start of the war in February 2026, United Arab Emirates air defenses have engaged nearly 500 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles and more than 2,100 drones. The attacks have resulted in the deaths of at least two members of the armed forces and at least 11 civilian deaths, with more than 215 people injured.

Iran said United States-Israeli attacks killed five people and wounded 170 others at the Mahshahr Petrochemical Zone, and that more than 30 universities have been targeted since the beginning of the war.

Democratic lawmakers have taken issue with the fact that Congress has not formally authorised the use of military force, and have forced several votes seeking to block further military action without congressional approval. Republicans have remained mostly unified in voting down those measures, with only a handful of lawmakers voting with most Democrats, including Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Most Republicans agree with the Trump administration that congressional authorisation is not legally needed.

What is the Strait of Hormuz and why has Trump issued Iran a 48-hour ultimatum over it?

Since the war began, the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which sees about 20 percent of all global oil traffic, has caused fuel prices to skyrocket worldwide. Trump issued an ultimatum on Saturday warning Iran that it had 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face intensified military action. Iran rejected those demands. The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoint, through which crude oil and petroleum products flow to markets in Asia, Europe, and North America. Its effective closure since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury has disrupted global energy supply chains and contributed to sustained fuel price inflation across multiple continents.

Trump said the double rescue proves air dominance and superiority over Iranian skies, without addressing how the F-15E was shot down by Iranian forces. Trump also said the White House remained silent about the first rescue on Friday because officials did not want to jeopardize the second rescue operation.

Key takeaways on what the double F-15E rescue means for United States military operations, the Iran conflict, and global security

• United States special forces rescued both crew members of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle from inside Iranian territory in separate operations, with the pilot recovered on Friday, 3 April 2026, and the weapons system officer, a colonel, recovered in the early hours of Sunday, 5 April 2026, after nearly 48 hours evading capture in the mountains of southwestern Iran.
• The CIA played a central role in the second rescue, launching a deception campaign inside Iran to misdirect Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps search parties before tracking the crew member to a mountain crevice and sharing his precise location with the Pentagon and the White House.
• The shootdown of the F-15E marks the first confirmed enemy shoot-down of a United States fighter jet in combat in over 20 years, representing a significant milestone in Operation Epic Fury and challenging assertions of unchecked United States air dominance over Iran.
• The broader conflict continues to escalate, with United Arab Emirates air defense systems engaging hundreds of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones since February 2026, fires reported in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Iran threatening severe consequences if infrastructure strikes continue.
• The virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of global oil traffic passes, has driven fuel prices sharply higher worldwide, with Trump demanding Iran reopen the waterway within 48 hours or face intensified military action.