Newly declassified footage from 60 Minutes has added detail to the rescue of DUDE 44 Bravo, the U.S. Air Force F-15E weapons systems officer shot down over Iran in April. The video shows the later extraction of Bravo after he survived for about 50 hours behind enemy lines, and it appears to blur the aircraft used in the final pickup, strengthening earlier reporting that the mission involved MH-6 Little Birds flown in from MC-130J Commando II transports.
The footage comes from Bravo’s first public account of the incident and follows the earlier rescue of his pilot, DUDE 44 Alpha. The crew’s F-15E was hit near Isfahan during a nighttime mission, forcing both airmen to eject over mountainous terrain south of the city. Bravo evaded Iranian search efforts while injured before U.S. special operations personnel reached him.
The blurred helicopter in the newly released imagery remains unofficially identified, but its size and configuration match a Little Bird. The footage also indicates the Pentagon is still withholding some operational details from the operation, which involved a larger package of aircraft and support assets.