Iran shot down two American aircraft within a single day yesterday, an astonishing feat. The U.S. has acknowledged the downing of one F-15E and one A-10 aircraft, turning Trump’s speech the previous day—where he claimed to have “almost entirely destroyed Iran’s military capabilities”—into a laughing stock.

Additionally, Iran announced yesterday that it had also shot down multiple American drones.

The greater uncertainty lies in the fact that the two U.S. pilots from the F-15 ejected and landed inside Iranian territory. While the U.S. claims to have rescued one, the fate of the other remains unknown. Iran is now intensively searching for this pilot, while the U.S. will spare no effort to rescue him. This has turned into a high-stakes political race between capture and rescue. If this pilot is alive and falls into Iranian hands, it would deliver a fresh blow to Trump.

The pilot from the A-10 ejected and landed in Kuwait, where he has already been rescued. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated they are searching the area near the crash site of the F-15E in southwestern Iran. Due to communication links and radar tracking, the U.S. could detect the F-15E’s downing almost instantly. After ejection, the signal transmitter on the pilot’s suit would immediately inform the U.S. of his landing location, allowing U.S. forces in Iraq to act swiftly and rescue the pilot before Iranian troops could apprehend him.

Almost simultaneously with news of the aircraft being shot down yesterday, reports quickly emerged of U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and C-130 Hercules transport planes conducting a rescue operation. Subsequently, the U.S. announced the successful rescue of one pilot. In the early hours today, the U.S. admitted that the Black Hawk helicopter carrying the rescued pilot was hit by light ground fire from Iran during its return flight, resulting in minor injuries to personnel onboard.

The second pilot remains unaccounted for—a serious complication. The first U.S. rescue operation clearly revealed the approximate landing zone of the ejected pilot. Iran will not only dispatch troops to search the area promptly but could also establish a significant military presence there.

When Lao Hu wrote this report, dawn had just broken; the entire night belonged to Iran.

If the U.S. attempts another rescue during the day today, the risks will double. Iran may have already completed local deployments, and it cannot be ruled out that they have either captured the second pilot or discovered his body. If we consider the worst-case scenario for the U.S., Iran might deliberately withhold information about the pilot’s status, lying in wait for another U.S. rescue attempt to ambush them. Such escalation due to rescue missions is not uncommon in past wars. For instance, in 2005, Taliban fighters ambushed four U.S. Navy SEALs engaged in a rescue mission in eastern Afghanistan, and another 16 U.S. personnel died when their rescue helicopter was shot down.

At present, no one knows whether the second U.S. pilot is alive or dead. Information released by both sides may be strategically timed to support their respective operations. Only when definitive confirmation is provided—such as video or photographic evidence showing the pilot’s status and whereabouts—can the situation be considered fully resolved.

In the 1995 Bosnian War, a U.S. F-16 was shot down, and its pilot evaded capture in the mountains for six days before being successfully rescued by U.S. forces—an event that caused great international sensation at the time. Similarly, the fate of the currently unrescued U.S. pilot will be closely tracked by global media, and its outcome could also prove highly dramatic.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861502688647180/

Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author.