Two $100m US jets destroyed to keep technology from Iran

The CBS segment, which aired on Sunday, marks the first time one of the aviators involved in the April incident has spoken publicly about the experience. Bravo and the other crew member, identified only as “Alpha” — who declined to be interviewed — ejected from the $30m (£22m) two-seat F-15E after it was struck by a shoulder-fired missile, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner network. The two were separated on the ground and had to evade Iranian forces while awaiting rescue from US special forces.

In the interview, Bravo described the moment he realized his parachute had not deployed. “At one point, when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Free-falling is a good way to put it. I wasn’t focused on the speed at which I was falling. I was instead focused on trying to correct the problems that were in front of me and doing anything I could to unfurl or pull pieces of the parachute loose.”

He survived the landing but broke his back, shoulder, and arm. Despite his injuries, he hiked and climbed to the top of a tall ridgeline to evade Iranian forces, saying he feared capture the whole way. “Never let a lack of motivation put you on Iranian TV,” he said. He called his survival “a miracle.”

Alpha was rescued within six hours in an operation that Hegseth said involved intense combat. “It was a gun fight all the way in and all the way out,” Hegseth said. “But they got Alpha back.” Bravo was extracted after 48 hours behind enemy lines.

Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper said more than 90 US service members were on the ground inside Iran during the operation — the first time American forces had operated inside Iran in 46 years. Several aircraft and helicopters sent to evacuate the rescue force became stuck in desert sand and had to be destroyed on site while special forces awaited a backup rescue crew. Two of the destroyed US aircraft were worth about $100m each, CBS reported, and several “Little Bird” helicopters were also destroyed so their technology would not fall into Iranian hands.

The operation came about five weeks into a war against Iran that was launched by the US and Israel and is now in its seventh month. The conflict has become increasingly unpopular with the US public as campaigning for November’s congressional midterm elections gets underway, with much of the dissatisfaction driven by a steep rise in global energy prices and knock-on effects on other goods. Last week, President Donald Trump predicted the war would continue at least until election day on November 3.