You just saw the most daring search and rescue mission in American history. No other mission compares to the operation to bring home the F-15E crew known as ‘Dude 44’.
American military helicopters have been picking up downed pilots under fire since the Korean War. In Vietnam, pilots were plucked from the tall grasses and karst ridges and jungles under enemy fire. U.S. Air Force rescuers alone have rescued 1,201 Air Force aircrews and a total of 2,780 U.S. service members in combat situations.
Over Iran, the sheer number of aircraft and people involved and exposed to danger dwarfs any other rescue effort in the annals of air war. For nearly 48 hours, beginning at 4:40 a.m. local time on April 2, more than 155 aircraft and hundreds of soldiers risked their lives on a mission 200 miles inside Iran. And everyone came back alive. That’s air dominance.
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“This rescue captured the imagination of the world,” President Donald Trump said at the Pentagon on Monday. The astonishing technology of a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle is remote and almost superhuman in its sophistication. But from the moment the Americans heard that there were two pilots in Iran, our hearts pounded. We felt, at the most basic human level, their struggle to survive, to avoid, to hide and to hope.
“They always knew we were coming for them,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.
HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters were involved in rescue efforts for the downed airman in Iran. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Deanna Muir)
Call sign ‘Dude 44’
With Operation Epic Fury in week five, “Dude 44” was part of the effort to eliminate the rest of Iran’s military might. All combat missions are given a random callsign used only for that sortie; it’s for radio calls to home base, command and control, the tanker, etc. “Dude” is one of the most popular, but sometimes you get a call sign like “Poptart.”
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“Dude 44” was a night mission. The F-15E is the workhorse of Operation Epic Fury. It has the largest bomb load of any American fighter plane. F-15E crews often have hundreds of combat hours over Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran. The two officers of “Dude 44” likely had double-digit missions over Iran to their credit.
Hundreds of soldiers risk their lives for a mission 200 miles inside Iran. And everyone came back alive. That’s air dominance.
They were about to face the worst-case scenario. This F-15E was 200 miles inside Iran when something – a shoulder-fired infrared missile that latched onto the heat of their engine, or anti-aircraft artillery – hit them.
The pilot
The first rescue operation began at 4:40 a.m. local Iranian time. Although the joint forces knew that both pilots had survived, it was initially only the pilot they had located. Rescuers appreciated a quick mission at dawn that could throw surprises. What they got was seven hours in Iranian airspace. The Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green IIs are purpose-built for rescue operations. They have radars, self-defense chaff and flares, the most advanced Link 16 data links to other aircraft, and of course 7.62mm and .50 caliber guns.
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A U.S. Air Force A-10 Warthog fighter loitered and maintained radio communications with the pilot on the ground, coordinating an exact pick-up spot. A-10s and other aircraft kept watch and shot at anything that came in the pilot’s direction. The Iranians fired back; Caine called it a close-quarters firefight and “an incredibly dangerous mission.” The lead A-10 call sign “Sandy,” the designation for special training in search and rescue, took so much fire that the pilot eventually had to leave Iranian airspace and conduct a rescue operation.
All the while, a fleet of 155 aircraft has set up seven different deception areas to fool the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). B-1 bombers, F-22s, F-35s, F-16s, more F-15s and A-10s gave the appearance of multiple search and rescue operations. Above them, 48 tankers, many over Iranian airspace, provided mid-air refueling. Count the participants: hundreds of pilots, special forces and other members of the joint force. This preponderance of air power has trapped the IRGC forces.
The backseat
Anxious hours passed, but Central Command did not dare to launch the second rescue mission because searchers could not locate the F-15E weapons systems officer or ‘back-seater’.
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During a rescue operation it is possible to have radio contact or to receive indications of life, but not to know exactly where the pilot is. Down in unknown mountains, wounded and bleeding, the pilot can only describe what he sees. Devices such as infrared strobes can provide a signal to watching aircraft. But Iranian forces were closing in, making concealment necessary.
From the moment the Americans heard that there were two pilots in Iran, our hearts pounded. We felt, at the most basic human level, their struggle to survive, to avoid, to hide and to hope.
Fortunately, the backseater was, as CIA director John Ratcliffe described it, “invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA.” Careful monitoring at a distance of about 40 miles, as described by Trump, provided the first indication of slight movement. Then the backseater stood in his crevasse – and that was enough. “We got it,” Trump said. (Even Trump chose his words carefully when talking about this top-secret capability; suffice to say, our side has been working on the ability to detect and characterize slight movements in terrain for some time.)
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Trump’s decision to greenlight the backseater’s rescue was a big commitment. Two powerful, specially modified HC-130Js landed and released three MH-6 “Little Bird” helicopters. Small but heavily armed, the three helicopters were unpacked in less than 10 minutes, according to Trump. The team removed the backseater from the mountain. To no one’s surprise, as the HC-130Js landed, they could not taxi fast enough to reach take-off speed in the wet sand and mud. Trump described how “other planes” came for all the staff.
Finally, US warplanes targeted and destroyed the HC-130Js to keep secrets out of the hands of Iran – and their cronies in Russia and China. As Caine said, “People are more important than hardware.” Still, you’ll be happy to know that C-130Js are still made in Marietta, Georgia. And brand new F-15EX Eagle II fighters for the Air Force are on the production line in St. Louis.
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