When Iran downed a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday and two Air Force officers ejected into enemy territory, the CIA developed a deception plan to buy time. While the pilot was rescued relatively quickly, the second crew member - a weapons systems officer - could not be located, triggering a race between American intelligence and Iranian ground forces.
The agency's plan aimed to spread word inside Iran that the airman had already been found and was being moved out of the country in a ground convoy, "Hvylya" reports, citing The New York Times. The hope was that Iranian forces would shift their search from the area where the officer was thought to be hiding to the roads leading out of the region.
A senior administration official said the operation "did appear to cause confusion and uncertainty among the Iranian forces hunting for the airman." The exact mechanics of the deception remain classified, but the results on the ground suggest it achieved at least partial success: when U.S. commandos finally moved in to extract the officer, they fired weapons to keep Iranian forces at bay but did not have to engage in a direct firefight.
Beyond the deception campaign, the CIA also deployed what officials described as technology "unique to the agency" to pinpoint the airman's location. A senior official declined to specify what device was used but confirmed the agency passed coordinates to the Pentagon and White House as soon as it found him. U.S. officials knew the officer had moved from where his ejection seat landed and that he was injured, which added urgency to both the intelligence and military effort.
The CIA traditionally assists with efforts to rescue American pilots trapped behind enemy lines, but officials described the Iran operation as one of the most complex in recent memory. Rescue planes eventually flew the injured airman to Kuwait for medical treatment.
Also read: why the Iran war alarmed U.S. allies across Asia.