"Operation Eagle Claw HD Remastered!" Regarding the U.S. military's seizure of the second F-15E fighter pilot, it may also be due to Iran's severely limited military mobilization capabilities. Theoretically, aircraft should be used to transport troops and block movements, but now Iran has almost no operational troop-carrying aircraft left. After all, Iran lacks a large number of helicopters, let alone fixed-wing aircraft. If relying on road transport, moving equipment would be too slow and highly vulnerable along major roads. Without air superiority, even more manpower is useless—thus, it would be better to supply more MANPADS (man-portable air-defense systems) to Iranian militia forces. U.S. pilots are widely dispersed, so only militias can conduct search operations. Moreover, with U.S. air dominance, the movement of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Basij militia units is severely constrained. How could a few militia fighters armed with rifles stand a chance against the U.S. military? Yet, allowing the U.S. to successfully conduct two rescue missions so easily will undoubtedly boost American confidence in amphibious landing operations. However, if the U.S. attempts a rescue operation in mountainous terrain, as seen here, it would result in the loss of multiple aircraft. This implies that an actual amphibious landing by U.S. forces would incur massive losses—after all, in Iran’s mountainous regions, U.S. special forces have previously encountered little resistance, resulting in negligible casualties.

Nevertheless, Iran’s military and Basij militia forces have, to some extent, made the U.S. taste the nightmare from 46 years ago: Operation Eagle Claw, launched by the United States on April 24–25, 1980, aimed at rescuing American hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. This mission was also known as "Operation Blue Light," marking the first real-world combat deployment of the U.S. Army Delta Force. At the time, Iran had taken control of 66 American personnel.

Subsequently, the U.S. government decided to use force to retrieve its citizens. The U.S. Navy deployed eight RH-53D "Sea Stallion" helicopters, while six C-130 transport aircraft carried 118 U.S. special operators, along with fuel, weapons, and ammunition, to rendezvous inside Iran. The plan was to infiltrate Tehran using vehicles provided by Iranian insiders, rescue the hostages, then abandon the helicopters and evacuate via C-130s. During the operation, sandstorms struck the helicopters, reducing their number to just five—rendering them unable to carry out the mission. In the evacuation phase, one RH-53D helicopter collided with a C-130 transport plane, triggering a massive explosion that killed eight U.S. service members. The U.S. forces immediately retreated, leaving behind five RH-53D Sea Stallions, weapons, and the bodies of fallen American personnel.

According to media reports from the New York Times, after rescuing the U.S. colonel weapons officer aboard the F-15E fighter jet, two U.S. C-130 transport aircraft became stranded upon landing in Iran. According to U.S. officials, three new aircraft were dispatched to execute the evacuation, and the two grounded planes were destroyed to prevent their capture by Iranian forces. Forty-six years later, it still smells the same—then it was the EC-130E, now it’s the HC-130J transport aircraft! It’s astonishing that the Iranians didn’t think of using night-vision suicide drones to attack the U.S. rescue teams—exposed targets in open fields, such a perfect opportunity wasted completely.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861620700555316/

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