U.S. launched "air armada" to rescue F-15 crew in Iran

The U.S. military employed hundreds of people and some 176 aircraft over the weekend to rescue the crew of an Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle downed deep inside https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/azerbaijan-iran-drone-ambassador-nakhchivan" target="_blank">Iran.

The big picture: This "air armada," as Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine described it at the White House on Monday, helped pull off a pair of "incredibly dangerous" extractions, bringing home the pilot and weapon-system officer (WSO).

• Their callsigns were Dude 44A and Dude 44B.

Among the aircraft used were bombers, fighters, refueling tankers, helicopters and https://www.axios.com/2026/03/15/iran-drones-ukraine-russia-shahed" target="_blank">unmanned systems.

• Caine name-dropped the A-10 Warthog, HC-130 Combat King II and HH-60 Jolly Green II. He also hinted at "remotely piloted" and "tactical" drones.
• "The courage demonstrated by both the pilot and the weapon-system officer, while isolated and evading the enemy, cannot be overstated," Caine said.

Zoom in: Rescuing the WSO, specifically, demanded 155 aircraft, according to President Trump. "A lot of it," he said https://www.axios.com/2026/02/23/iran-strike-trump-gen-dan-caine-vance-rubio" target="_blank">alongside Caine, was meant to confuse and misdirect Iranian forces that were on the hunt.

• Seven locations were in play.

  Only one was legit.

• "They said, 'Well, wait a minute.

  They've got groups here.

  They've got groups there,'" Trump said. "America's military descended on the real area, engaged the enemy, rescued the https://www.axios.com/2026/04/03/iran-us-fighter-shot-down" target="_blank">stranded officer, destroyed all threats and exited Iranian territory."

State of play: The F-15 was the first manned American aircraft downed by "the enemy" during Operation Epic Fury, according to the president.

It was "a lucky hit," he said. "Eventually, you get lucky.

But we get lucky, too."

• The U.S. https://www.axios.com/2026/04/01/iran-war-damage-reaper-stratotanker-sentry" target="_blank">previously lost three Strike Eagles in a friendly fire incident involving a Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet.
• It's also lost more than a dozen MQ-9 Reapers, an E-3 Sentry in an Iranian attack on a base in Saudi Arabia and a KC-135 Stratotanker in a crash over Iraq.

Go deeper: https://www.axios.com/2026/04/06/iran-war-us-tehran-ceasefire-talks" target="_blank">Iran mediators make last-ditch push for 45-day ceasefire