The F-15E Weapons Officer Shot-Down Over Iran Just Told His Incredible Story

The U.S. Air Force weapons-systems officer shot down over Iran months ago has broken his silence, recounting in an interview with 60 Minutes how he survived for two days in enemy territory while Iranian forces hunted for him and American troops raced to bring him home.

MUST WATCH: The incredible true story of the U.S. Air Force officer shot down in Iran, his heroic rescue, and his faith that sustained him.

The greatest military in the history of the world.@60Minutes pic.twitter.com/syxehQFqmO

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 14, 2026

First on 60 Minutes: Newly declassified video shows service members from U.S. Joint Special Operations Command rescuing Bravo, one of the two U.S. Air Force officers shot down over Iran in April. Bravo was stranded for two days – alone and badly wounded, behind enemy lines.… pic.twitter.com/jAfLa5tfL7

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026

The officer, identified only by his mission call sign “Bravo,” was a weapons-systems officer in the back seat of an F-15E Strike Eagle when an Iranian missile struck his aircraft back in April. The force of the impact, he told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, felt like being “hit by a freight train.” The other pilot, identified as “Alpha,” was the one to initiate the ejection sequence, a decision Bravo credited with saving both men’s lives. But getting out of the aircraft was the easy part.

The attack had damaged Bravo’s parachute, leaving him in what he described as the most terrifying moment of his life: a near free fall over Iran’s mountains. Military debriefers later estimated he struck the ground at between 70 and 100 mph. The impact broke his back, as well as his arm and shoulder, and yet somehow did not kill him. Alone, seriously injured and deep behind enemy lines, Bravo spent roughly 50 hours without food or water, and armed with only his sidearm and some communication equipment, climbed a 7,000-foot ridgeline to avoid capture. 

While Alpha, who had landed about five miles away, was recovered by U.S. forces within hours, Bravo had to wait nearly two days to be rescued eventually by the Air Force's elite pararescue.

After ejecting from a fighter jet shot down over Iran, U.S. Air Force officer Bravo broke his back, arm and shoulder upon impact with the ground. Badly injured and stranded in a valley surrounded by cliffs, he mustered the strength to climb a 7,000-foot ridgeline in order to… pic.twitter.com/Dn9NgUl47s

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026

Throughout the interview, it was clear that Bravo attributed his survival in large part to God, recounting how he prayed that he would survive the initial impact to the first message he was able to send back to U.S. forces.

"When I got to the moment where I could review and think about all that I'd gone through, I sent, 'God is good,' as a recognition of all that he had brought me through," Bravo said.

Bravo, the U.S. Air Force weapon systems officer who was stranded behind enemy lines in Iran for two days, tells 60 Minutes about the first message he was able to send to the U.S.: “God is good.” https://t.co/xqTEaggw2A pic.twitter.com/z7cBfqCksI

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are once again respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.

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