Israel and US Military Collaboration: How a Complex Rescue Operation Saved an F-15 Pilot

Translation result.

[Herald Economy=Reporter Lee Won-yul] Israel’s Defense Minister Katz said on the 5th (local time) that the rescue of U.S. pilots was the result of close cooperation between U.S. and Israeli military authorities.

Katz made the remark following a battlefield assessment with Israel’s senior military leadership, calling the operation “further proof of how closely Israel and the United States can coordinate even in the most complex moments.”

He did not disclose what specific role Israel played in rescuing the U.S. fighter pilots who were shot down over Iranian airspace.

Meanwhile, the Times of Israel reported that Israeli defense officials said Israeli intelligence assets provided decisive assistance during the search-and-rescue operation.

Officials added that the Israeli Air Force temporarily postponed planned strikes near the operation area while U.S. forces conducted their search, indirectly supporting the U.S. rescue effort.

U.S. forces deployed Navy SEALs from their most elite unit, along with hundreds of special operations troops. They recovered the missing F-15 pilot — who survived in hostile territory for more than 24 hours armed with only a pistol — within two days.

Before the recovery, U.S. and Iranian forces engaged in a fierce race to locate him.

Reports say the officer ejected from the fighter and hid in a rocky crevice in the mountains. Both U.S. and Iranian forces initially failed to pinpoint his location. The CIA later found his hiding place and passed the information to the U.S. Department of Defense, enabling a full-scale rescue operation.

The Navy SEAL unit known as “Team 6,” which reportedly led the operation’s core effort, is the SEALs’ most elite team and was the unit that carried out the successful 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.