A US Air Force colonel, identified only by his call sign "Bravo", has spoken publicly for the first time about surviving a 50-hour ordeal in Iran after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by an Iranian missile on 2 April. In an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes", the weapons systems officer described praying as his damaged parachute failed, before enduring a violent landing that broke his back, arm and shoulder, then evading Iranian forces hunting him on the ground. The account sheds new light on a high-risk US mission and rescue operation deep inside hostile territory, underscoring the dangers faced by American aircrews even amid air superiority.

The jet, callsign Dude 44, was struck while attacking facilities linked to Iran's drone and missile programme near Isfahan. Bravo's pilot, "Alpha", ejected safely and was rescued around six hours later in a mission that came under fire, but Bravo was left stranded roughly five miles away with three broken bones, forced to climb toward a 7,000ft ridgeline as Iranian ground forces closed to within several hundred metres. Senior officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, confirmed the intensity of the search-and-rescue effort, which ultimately succeeded in bringing both airmen home.