6 takeaways from our interview with the officer shot down in Iran
In his first interview, Bravo, an Air Force colonel who was shot down in Iran, told 60 Minutes his story of survival and provided new details about the rescue operation.
Updated on: September 13, 2026 / 8:25 PM EDT / CBS News
In April, five weeks into a costly and unpopular war, an American fighter jet was shot down over Iran, leaving two aviators stranded behind enemy lines.
The officers on board — a pilot and a weapons systems officer, who we are referring to by their mission call signs Alpha and Bravo for security reasons — ejected from their F-15E jet, call sign Dude 44, after it was hit by an Iranian missile.
The crewmates were then stranded miles apart in a mountainous desert region with Iranian bounties on their heads. What unfolded is considered to be one of the largest and most complex rescue operations in U.S. military history.
In his first interview, Bravo provided 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O'Donnell new details about his harrowing story of survival and the rescue operation to save him and his crewmate Alpha.
Bravo thanks Alpha for "saving our lives"