American aircraft shot down by Iran: How are pilots trained to survive in enemy territory

An American aviator is still being sought in Iran after his F-15 fighter jet was shot down by the Iranian army. While crew members receive training to survive in enemy territory, such an operation requires constant vigilance.

Published on 04/04/2026 17:17 ● 5min read

A new race against time for Washington and Tehran. As bombings continue in the Middle East, the United States and Iran are searching for one of the two crew members of the American F-15E fighter jet that was shot down by the Iranian army on Friday, April 3.

“If you capture the enemy pilot(s) alive and hand them over to the police and armed forces, you will receive a generous reward,” stated a journalist from an Iranian state media. If captured, the American crew member could be used as a bargaining chip, or worse. But American Air Force soldiers are trained to survive in hostile territory. What does this training entail?

Surviving in enemy territory is “an essential aspect of airmen’s training,” noted retired Colonel Cedric Leighton, a military analyst for CNN. This preparation is known as SERE – “Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion.” “The goal for the pilot and the weapon systems officer is to find a way to escape and avoid being captured,” added the former officer.

Initially, the pilot must check if he was injured by the gunfire, ejection seat, or landing. “Imagine: you just landed on the ground after parachuting, and you think, ‘My God, I was in a fighter jet two minutes ago, flying at 800 km/h, and a missile just exploded 5 meters from my head,'” recounted retired Brigadier General Houston Cantwell, who was trained to prepare for such situations before combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. During ejection, the pilot experiences “acceleration of up to 50 G,” noted Xavier Tytelman, a former French naval aviator. The parachute does not allow the pilot to choose the direction of descent.

“If the person is mobile,” they must understand their location, explained Houston Cantwell, now an expert at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Knowing one’s location during the parachute descent is useful, for example, to avoid heading toward an enemy military base upon landing. “What you are trying to do is avoid being captured by the enemy for as long as possible,” and therefore hide until a potential rescue.

An ejected aviator only has “water, survival equipment, communication equipment, a radio” to aid in their recovery, as well as a firearm, according to Houston Cantwell. Water, in particular, is essential: “You can survive without food for a while, but you need water every day.” To be recovered, they must find an accessible location, such as a rooftop in the city or a clearing in the forest. But to avoid being located by adversaries, the former pilot emphasized a rule: “If I move, I will try to do it at night.”

Houston Cantwell assured that during military operations like the one in Iran, each branch of the U.S. military keeps specialized troops on alert to extract pilots from enemy territory. As a pilot, this “gives you immense peace of mind, because you know they will do everything they can to come and get you,” noted the former colonel.

American pilot Scott O’Grady experienced this situation in 1995. When his F-16 was shot down by Bosnian Serbs, he parachuted and managed to hide in a brush area. Using a sponge, he collected moisture to drink and survived on grass and ants. After six days in isolation, guided by his radio signal, around 40 Marines landed in a helicopter, protected from the Serbs by morning fog. Rescued, Scott O’Grady was hailed as a hero a few days later at the White House.

His story inspired the film “Behind Enemy Lines,” released in France in January 2002.

Even with all the training in the world, it is challenging to survive alone for long in hostile territory with so little equipment. “Most crew members are trained to survive for only a few days,” noted Cedric Leighton for CNN. Donald Trump refused to comment on what would happen if the aviator being sought was injured: “I can’t speak to that because we hope it won’t happen.”

[Context: The article discusses the search for an American aviator in Iran after his F-15 jet was shot down. It details the training and survival techniques for airmen in enemy territory. The information is from a French news source, FranceInfo.]

[Fact Check: The names, dates, and events mentioned in the article are accurate historical incidents and individuals.]