While the stealth aircraft incident confirmed that stealth technology did not make the aircraft invisible, Serbs were able to use predictable and foreseeable flight patterns to shoot down the plane, achieving a huge propaganda victory. The F-117, an advanced stealth aircraft, was flying over Serbia, a relatively remote area, yet it was shot down. This shows that asymmetric defense systems are effective against modern aircraft, as demonstrated by the shooting down of an F-15E aircraft last week using a man-portable air-defense system. These incidents show that survival training remains important. Military aircraft crews are trained in survival, resistance, and evasion. They are taught survival and evasion tactics in harsh environments. The pilot, O'Grady, remained alive for six days. The F-15E WSO aircraft, which was recovered from Iran, remained in the air for 48 hours while being tracked through rugged mountain terrain. These cases highlight the importance of the American doctrine, which states that no pilot will be left behind if their aircraft is shot down. The latest rescue operation for the F-15E WSO aircraft was irrefutable proof of this, involving numerous aircraft and forces, even a disinformation campaign launched by the CIA. The United States' willingness to go to great lengths to rescue pilots whose aircraft have been shot down is a source of encouragement and confidence for those tasked with operating 'behind enemy lines'. Humbleton remained on the ground for 11 days, and the rescue operation was massive, involving numerous aircraft and units. Humbleton was ultimately rescued by U.S. Navy SEALs and commandos from South Vietnam in one of the largest combat search and rescue operations ever conducted. 'Behind Enemy Lines' The United States once again faced the problem of rescuing pilots whose aircraft were shot down during its air wars over former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. In many cases, pilots were deep inside North Vietnam, making their capture or death on the ground inevitable. The most famous prisoner of war can be considered U.S. Navy pilot, Senator, and future presidential candidate John McCain, who spent six years in the 'Hanoi Hilton' prison before being released in 1973. Pilots whose aircraft were shot down near South Vietnam were sometimes luckier. The pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Darriel Zelko, successfully ejected and parachuted to safety and was rescued by American helicopters within hours. Lessons from Experience So, the question is: what can the United States learn from aircraft shoot-down incidents? Shoot-down incidents have firmly proven that technological superiority does not equal invulnerability. The pilot managed to evade Serbian patrols before U.S. Marines rescued him using a helicopter. American author and attorney Harrison Cas believes that the shoot-down of two F-15E Strike Eagle and A-10 Warthog aircraft last week during 'Operation Allied Force' raised awareness of one of the most dangerous scenarios in air warfare. Cas, a writer and attorney specializing in national security, technology, and political culture, with a J.D. from the University of Oregon and an M.A. in Global and Joint Studies from New York University, said that while being shot down is often fatal, survival is possible if things go right for the pilot, including ejection, parachute deployment, evasion, and rescue. He added in a report published by the American magazine 'The National Interest' that both recent incidents were resolved by successful rescue operations, noting that this is not the first time American pilots have encountered such accidents. The Vietnam War The Vietnam War was rich with examples of U.S. aircraft being shot down over enemy territory. Pilot Humbleton remained alive for 11 days while enemy ground forces searched for him. The idea for the 2001 film 'Behind Enemy Lines', starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman, was inspired by this incident. In 1999, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft was shot down by a Serbian surface-to-air missile. In a famous 1972 incident, an aircraft with the call sign 'Bat 21', a signals intelligence aircraft operating behind North Vietnamese lines during the Easter Offensive, was shot down. The aircraft was particularly sensitive because the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Gene Humbleton, was privy to highly classified information. In 1995, an F-16C aircraft piloted by Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down by an SA-6 surface-to-air missile over Bosnia. O'Grady survived and remained behind enemy lines for six days, eating insects and rainwater.
