'Never let a lack of motivation put you on Iranian TV': US airman shares intense Iran survival story after shootdown

A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle flying over the US Central Command area of responsibility. US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Daniel Asselta The aviator shot down over Iran in April survived a damaged parachute and serious injuries before being rescued. The aviator, called "Bravo," credited the jet's pilot with their fast ejection from the damaged jet. The rescue involved 92 troops on the ground, multiple aircraft, and thousands more troops in support. An Air Force officer who survived behind enemy lines for two days in Iran after his F-15E fighter jet was shot down said he hit the ground hard after the shoulder-fired missile that struck his Strike Eagle also shredded part of his parachute. Severely wounded and stranded in hostile territory, the downed airman was forced to rely on survival training for one of the military's worst-case scenarios.