A high-stakes rescue mission is unfolding behind enemy lines, where time, terrain and threat converge into a perilous equation.
As US forces scramble to locate a missing F-15 pilot and Iran offers a bounty to capture the "enemy", experts have warned that any attempt to bring the service member home will be fraught with extraordinary risks. Bryan Stern, a former US special forces veteran, described the challenge in stark terms to CNN: "this is not a cinematic extraction, but a deeply complex and dangerous operation where every move could trigger deadly consequences."
