Watch: US Air Force officer survives a terrifying fall and 50 hours behind enemy lines after Iran shot down his F-15E; newly released footage shows his dramatic rescue

A newly released video offers a rare glimpse of the US military operation to locate and rescue an Air Force officer who spent nearly two days injured and hiding in mountainous terrain after his F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran.

The video, marked “UNCLASSIFIED” and dated April 5, 2026, shows aerial surveillance imagery of the rugged Iranian landscape during the operation. The footage accompanies the account of the rescue reported by CBS News.

Watch the footage of the rescue operation

The thermal imagery shows a barren, mountainous landscape as US forces searched for the stranded airman. The footage gives a visual sense of the difficult terrain in which the officer was hiding after ejecting from his damaged aircraft.


The officer, known by his mission call sign Dude 44 Bravo, was the weapons-systems officer aboard the two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle. His pilot, Dude 44 Alpha, was rescued several hours after the aircraft was shot down, while Bravo remained behind enemy lines.

According to CBS, Bravo suffered a broken back, arm and shoulder after his damaged parachute left him falling toward the ground at an estimated 70 to 100 mph. He then moved away from the crash site despite his injuries.

Bravo has described his survival as a “modern-day miracle,” while crediting the rescuers, military training, teamwork and his faith for bringing him home.

How Bravo survived in the Iranian mountains

Bravo eventually reached a high ridgeline, climbing to roughly 7,000 feet despite his injuries. He spent about two days in the mountains while Iranian forces searched for him. US officials told CBS that Iranian personnel came within several hundred metres of his position, turning the recovery into a race to locate him before he was captured.

The rescue operation was far larger than a conventional search. CBS reported that more than 90 US service members were on the ground, while hundreds more were involved in the air operation and thousands supported it.

The CIA also played a role, using intelligence capabilities and a deception campaign designed to confuse Iranian forces about Bravo's location. US bombers and drones struck nearby Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces before the rescuers moved in, according to CBS.

A rescue that took nearly 50 hours

Bravo was finally recovered around 50 hours after the F-15E was shot down, CBS reported. The extraction itself presented another danger when rescue aircraft became stranded on a makeshift desert airstrip.

The US military ultimately destroyed the aircraft left behind to prevent sensitive equipment from falling into Iranian hands. Bravo was then flown out of Iran and later spoke publicly about the ordeal for the first time.

Earlier reporting by Air & Space Forces Magazine described the April rescue as a sprawling, two-day combat search-and-rescue operation involving hundreds of personnel, dozens of aircraft and multiple dangerous encounters.