At 1407 local time, the tension in the air was palpable as two US F/A-18 Super Hornets surged towards Kerman airfield in Iran. Their mission was clear: neutralize three irreplaceable Iranian aircraft before they could take to the skies. Overhead, a circling drone provided real-time video feeds back to the strike group, revealing a troubling scene—Iranian forces were preparing to launch those aircraft any minute now.

The pilots of the Super Hornets pushed their throttles forward, engaging full afterburner in a desperate race against time. However, just as they accelerated, an Iranian operator spotted them, triggering a series of rapid calculations and decisions. The radar warning receiver in Raven One’s cockpit lit up with an alarming tone, indicating that a phased array missile battery was tracking them. This battery, hidden in the foothills, had been lying in wait, radar off, until the moment the American jets crossed into its kill zone.

The instant the Super Hornets entered the radar’s range, the missile battery skipped the search phase and went straight to fire control. Raven One’s instincts kicked in; he had to act fast. With his left hand, he reached for the chaff switch while tightening his grip on the stick with his right. The missile hurtled toward him, moving at a speed that could easily turn a minor error into a catastrophic failure.