CIA locates downed pilot in Iran using secret heartbeat tech - NYP
Illustrative photo: F-15E fighter jet (US Air Force)
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has for the first time deployed a classified technology called Ghost Murmur to rescue an American pilot shot down over Iran, reports The New York Post.
Developed by Lockheed Martin’s secret Skunk Works division, the system relies on quantum magnetometry. It can detect the electromagnetic signature of a human heartbeat from tens of miles away.
The sensors use microscopic defects in synthetic diamonds to capture extremely faint bioelectrical signals from the heart. AI-powered software isolates the individual’s heartbeat from background noise in the desert.
According to US President Donald Trump, the CIA was able to confirm the pilot’s location from 40 miles (64 km) away. One of the two pilots of a downed F-15E had been hiding in a mountain ravine for two days after his aircraft was shot down last week.
Iranian forces were actively searching the area, forcing the pilot to constantly move and making visual confirmation difficult. Even with a standard emergency beacon activated, his exact location could not be pinpointed.
The unpopulated desert, with minimal electromagnetic interference, became an ideal testing ground for Ghost Murmur’s first operational use. The system accurately identified the crevice where the injured American was hiding, allowing special operations forces to begin the extraction phase.
"It was about as clean an environment as you could ask for because of low electromagnetic interference, with almost no competing human signatures, and at night, the thermal contrast between a living body and the desert floor. Normally, this signal is so weak that it can only be measured in a hospital setting with sensors pressed nearly against the chest," a source told the publication.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed at a White House briefing that the agency provided evidence the pilot was alive before enemy search teams spotted him. Trump, in his characteristic style, joked about the secrecy of the technology, calling it “unbelievable” and capable of finding “a needle in a haystack.”
"It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, finding this pilot, and the CIA was unbelievable… The CIA was very responsible for finding this little speck," he said.
The technology has so far been tested on Black Hawk helicopters, with plans to integrate it into F-35 fighter systems in the future.
Downing of F-15E and rescue operation
On the same day, the US lost two combat aircraft, an F-15E over Iran and an A-10 near Kuwait. The A-10 pilot ejected safely, while the fate of the second F-15E crew member was initially unknown.
On April 5, Trump announced that US forces rescued the second F-15E pilot. He described the officer as injured but now safe and unharmed.
