Just one of the nearly 13,000 combat sorties flown by the U.S. military However, it was on this day that Iranian forces successfully targeted an American jet with a Russian-made missile.
Traveling at Mach2.8, It is specifically designed to engage low-altitude aerial targets by activating a proximity fuse upon arrival Exploding near the rear of the Jet.
But there's one strict code in the U.S. military that overrides everything else: nobody gets left behind. An A-10 Thunder bolt flew in to the rescue, shredding an approaching ::ee-RAY-nee-uhn:: convoy before they could reach the American pilot.
But this aggressive maneuver came with a massive risk. Because the A-10 was flying at such a low altitude, Iranian forces armed with thousands of Man pads were able to launch a Chinese-made, shoulder-fired missile. It found its mark, crippling the A-10's engine.
But this single incident triggered a massive chain reaction. When two rescue helicopters launched to recover the downed pilot, they flew right into an ambush taking heavy fire from a Soviet-era ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun."