A U.S. Air Force colonel has publicly recounted how he survived after his F-15E was shot down by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile and spent two days hiding behind enemy lines before being rescued.

Axar.az reports, citing CBS 60 Minutes, that the officer, identified by his call sign “Bravo,” was the weapons-systems officer aboard the two-person crew known as Dude 44. After the missile struck the aircraft on April 2 near Isfahan, he ejected but his parachute was damaged, sending him into a free fall at an estimated 70–100 mph.

"At one point when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. So I paused, right then, and I prayed, 'Lord, your will be done. But if I'm getting through this, I need help,'" Bravo said.

He suffered a broken back, arm and shoulder after landing about five miles from his crewmate, “Alpha,” but moved away from the crash site and climbed a 7,000-foot (2134 meters) ridgeline to avoid Iranian forces.

"Never let a lack of motivation put you on Iranian TV," Bravo said.

Alpha was rescued in a risky daytime operation about six hours after the crash, but Bravo remained missing. U.S. forces tracked Iranian troops who came within a few hundred meters of him. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, "Whether they're alive or not, we're going to go get them."

The CIA helped locate Bravo and launched a deception campaign to mislead Iranian forces. U.S. bombers and drones also struck nearby Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces before a rescue team reached him.

More than 90 U.S. service members took part in the ground operation, which involved hundreds of personnel in the air and thousands supporting the mission.

Bravo was rescued roughly 50 hours after the shootdown on Easter Sunday.