How elite stealth training of US airman trapped behind enemy lines will help evade Iranian bounty hunters… but could also make him harder to rescue

The desperate search for the downed American airman intensified Saturday night as U.S. special forces raced against armed Iranian nomads to find the missing crew.

Tehran has placed a £50,000 bounty on the head of the weapons systems operator who ejected from an F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday, moments before the jet was ‘destroyed’ by a surface-to-air missile.

The pilot was rescued within 45 minutes of the plane crashing into dangerous mountainous terrain in southern Iran.

But US officials now fear the missing crew could be used as humanitarian bargaining chips.

A source close to Donald Trump told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Everything is being done to find the missing airman.

‘We have special forces in the region and the entire strength of the US military is in this hunt.

‘There are fears that he will be caught and used as a pawn. We must find him and bring him home before the Iranians do.’

The source added that Mr Trump had been ‘briefed around the clock’ about the search and rescue mission and said the President chose to stay at the White House this weekend rather than go home to Florida because he ‘wanted to be at the center of everything’.

The pilot was rescued within 45 minutes of the plane crashing into dangerous mountainous terrain in southern Iran. Image: Ejection seat of the crashed fighter jet

But US officials now fear the missing crew could be used as humanitarian bargaining chips. Picture: Armed Iranian tribes search for missing US airman

While Iranian media publishes images of US planes searching for the missing airman, they constantly repeat the reward that will be given for his capture. This leads to rag-tag groups of goat herders and farmers buying makeshift weapons and joining the hunt.

Iranian leaders encouraged people to go to the region to capture the American but warned: ‘Don’t mistreat him.’

Mr Trump warned Iran last night to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying: ‘Time is running out – 48 hours before all hell is upon them. Thank God!’

Israel has called off attacks in the area where the jet was shot down, and Israeli Special Forces are said to be assisting U.S. Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets on the ground.

It is stated that the missing police officer received SERE (survival, escape, resistance and escape) training and may have been injured after being thrown.

Trained to survive for several days, it will hide in daylight and, if it moves, will do so at night.

“It will try to adapt to the terrain and survive until it is found,” said Marina Miron, from the department of defense studies at King’s College London.

He added: ‘The problem here is that the better it is hidden, the harder it will be to locate those carrying out the rescue.’

Laurel Rapp, of Chatham House’s US and North America programme, told the BBC that capturing the airman would be a ‘huge reward’ for Iran and offer them a ‘very strong bargaining chip’.

Last night a former military hostage negotiator raised the possibility that Iran had already captured him, telling the BBC they may have been using the location beacon to lure in US forces.

The crashed jet is thought to have previously been based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, but sources suggest they were moved to Jordan when the war began.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf trolled Mr Trump on X yesterday, saying: ‘After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant strategy-free war they started has now been downgraded from “regime change” to “Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please? Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses.”‘

The airman’s capture marks a pivotal point in the war that began Feb. 28 and has been dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

If captured, that raises the possibility of a repeat of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, when militant students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans captive for 444 days.

The crisis led to Jimmy Carter’s election as president last year, and Mr Trump has repeatedly described the incident as ‘weak and pathetic’.

Mr. Trump promised that the downed airman would not hinder negotiations to end the conflict; There are even talks that the Iranians deny.

Iranian media published images of US planes searching for the missing airman and constantly repeated the reward to be given for his capture. Image: Iranian police appear to be shooting at two US helicopters as they search for downed crew

This encouraged ragtag groups of goat herders and farmers to buy makeshift weapons and join the hunt. Picture: Armed Iranian tribes search for missing US airman

Iranian leaders encouraged people to go to the region to capture the American but warned: ‘Don’t mistreat him.’ Image: Wreckage of the downed plane posted online by Tehran, left, and the logo normally found on the tail of such planes, right

It is stated that the missing police officer received SERE (survival, escape, resistance and escape) training and may have been injured after being thrown. Image: File photo of a US Air Force member on a training exercise

Trained to survive for several days, it will hide in daylight and, if it moves, will do so at night. Image: File photo of US Air Force members at a training exercise

The crashed jet is thought to have previously been based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, but sources suggest they were moved to Jordan when the war began. Picture: An identical model aircraft takes off from a British base for a training exercise

Iran has launched at least 50 ballistic missiles and more than 150 drones at US targets in the past 72 hours, including the missile that shot down an F-15E fighter jet. Picture: A US plane and two helicopters fly over Iran earlier this week

A US Black Hawk helicopter participating in the search for the missing crew was hit by ground fire but landed safely. Image: Iranian police appear to be shooting at US rescuers

Despite the president touting ‘swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield’, Iran has launched at least 50 ballistic missiles and more than 150 drones at US targets in the past 72 hours, including the missile that shot down an F-15E fighter jet.

The US Black Hawk helicopter, which participated in the search efforts, was hit by fire from the ground, but landed safely.

And an A-10 Warthog plane crashed into the Gulf, but the pilot was rescued by jumping over Kuwait.

Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost her legs while serving as an Army helicopter pilot during the war in Iraq, said: ‘When someone is shot down behind enemy lines, my heart goes out to the crew members and their loved ones who are waiting for answers.’

Approximately 13 US soldiers have been killed in the war to date; seven as a result of enemy fire and six in plane crashes.

Mr Trump has stepped up his attacks on his European allies this week for refusing to show ‘courage’ to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit the White House next week.