When a U.S. Air Force F-15E was shot down over Iran last week, the military activated a procedure refined across decades of combat operations. One crew member was recovered quickly. The weapons systems officer remained missing at the time of recording but has since been rescued. The process behind those recoveries follows a joint playbook the services have practiced since Vietnam.
Retired Admiral Jamie Foggo and Vice Admiral John "Fuzzy" Miller detailed the rescue process in a conversation with War on the Rocks, "Hvylya" reports.
Miller explained that any time the military sends crewed aircraft over hostile territory, a joint rescue operation cell stands up in advance. "Their job is to coordinate these sort of rescue activities. And we will move heaven and earth to go and get people back if we possibly can," he said. The Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps each maintain dedicated rescue capabilities, and whichever unit reaches the downed aircrew first takes the lead.
Foggo recalled a near-identical scenario during the 2011 Libya campaign. An F-15 went down over hostile territory - initially feared shot down, but later confirmed as a mechanical failure. Aircraft in the area spotted two crew members ejecting and tracked their parachutes. Once on the ground, the aviators used line-of-sight radios to confirm they were evading. Foggo called his classmate commanding an expeditionary strike group and ordered rescue assets airborne. "She beat that timeline because there were Americans in jeopardy," he said.
V-22 Ospreys launched by Marines flew into Libyan airspace to extract the crew. "These were Marines. Without hesitation to get a couple of aviators back because we don't leave our brothers and sisters behind," Foggo said. Both crew members were eventually recovered and rehabilitated. That mission marked one of the first combat uses of the V-22 for pilot rescue - and today the same aircraft sits on the amphibious ships headed toward the Persian Gulf.
Miller added that downed crews receive extensive survival and evasion training before deploying. In Iran, there is also a chance that aircrew could find help from civilians hostile to the regime. "There are lots of Iranians that don't like the regime," he said.