The U.S. military has released dramatic new video of one of its most complex combat rescues ever — the mission that brought a badly injured American airman home from deep inside Iran.
The footage shows portions of the April operation to recover the two-man crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle, call sign Dude 44, after the jet was shot down by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile.
The pilot, known as Dude44 Alpha, and the weapons systems officer, Dude44 Bravo, ejected and landed miles apart.
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Alpha was rescued after a little more than six hours.
Bravo had it much worse.
His damaged parachute led to a brutal landing that left him with a broken back, arm, and shoulder.
He spent nearly two days stranded inside Iran.
The new video shows helicopters searching for him as U.S. forces worked to pinpoint his location.
Despite his injuries, Bravo moved away from his landing site and climbed toward a roughly 7,000-foot ridgeline.
American bombers and drones also struck Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces operating near his position, according to the military footage and subsequent reporting.
“There was clear intent out of the Iranian ground force to come find those two guys,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told CBS News this week, as quoted by Fox.
Then came the moment Bravo had been waiting for.
Two elite Air Force pararescue operators — PJs — reached him on the ridgeline on April 5.
Bravo later called seeing them “one of the greatest moments of my life.”
“Let’s go,” he remembered telling them.
The scale of the mission was enormous.
The second rescue effort put 92 U.S. service members on the ground inside Iran, while thousands more supported the operation overall, according to U.S. commanders.
Watch the clip below:
BREAKING: New footage released by the Air Force shows the U.S. military’s massive rescue operation to save an injured airman who was downed behind enemy lines in Iran.
The recently declassified footage shows the extraordinary operation to rescue Dude44 Bravo after his F-15E was… pic.twitter.com/fqd1VHec8r
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 16, 2026
