A senior U.S. military official just called this one of the most complex special operations missions in American history
The details that are emerging are extraordinary. Two transport planes got stuck at a remote base inside Iran after the WSO was recovered. Commanders flew in three replacement aircraft, extracted everyone, and destroyed both disabled planes on the ground to prevent them falling into Iranian hands.
The F-15E went down in a region with significant opposition to the Iranian government. The WSO may have received help from local civilians willing to shelter an American pilot while their own government hunted him. The CIA reportedly facilitates exactly this kind of arrangement through a process called "unconventional assisted recovery," making contact with civilians willing to help vulnerable troops survive.
So the full picture: a pilot ejected, climbed a mountain, was sheltered by locals who risked their lives, evaded for 48 hours while Iran offered bounties, survived a massive firefight at the recovery site, was extracted on aircraft that then got stuck, required three more planes to fly in, and the originals were blown up on exit.
What a story. Source: NYT
