U.S. military transport plane believed to have been deployed in the rescue of U.S. military personnel shot down in Iran [Reuters=Yonhap News]

A report has emerged that a U.S. soldier, shot down in Iran, was dramatically rescued after 48 hours thanks to a top-secret new technology from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) capable of detecting heartbeats from dozens of kilometers away.

The New York Post, a U.S. tabloid newspaper, reported on the 7th (local time) that the technology, known as "Ghost Murmur," was applied to the rescue operation for the first time, citing multiple sources including U.S. officials.

This technology tracks the electromagnetic signature of human heartbeats using long-range quantum magnetometry.

It works by inputting the acquired information into artificial intelligence (AI) software to isolate the U.S. soldier's heartbeat amidst ambient noise.

"As long as there are the right conditions and the heart is beating, we will find him," one source said. "It's like hearing a voice in a stadium, but the difference is that the stadium is a desert spanning tens of thousands of square kilometers."

This technology was developed by "Skunk Works," a top-secret development division of U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and this is the first time it has been applied in the field.

Previously, the U.S. military successfully completed one of its most challenging missions in history when two crew members from a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet, shot down by the Iranian military, were rescued after being isolated for up to 48 hours.

In the process, a total of 155 aircraft, including 4 bombers, 64 fighter jets, 48 refueling tankers, and 13 rescue aircraft, were mobilized for the second operation to rescue the weapons system officer.

In particular, the U.S. officer had been hiding in mountain valleys for nearly 48 hours to evade Iranian forces, making it a "needle in a haystack" situation to locate him even with a rescue team deployed.

Although the Combat Survivor Location (CSL) device developed by Boeing was activated, search teams were unable to pinpoint his exact location, the New York Post reported.

Consequently, the CIA decided to deploy the "Ghost Murmur" technology, which was still in the testing phase, and sources pointed to the moment the U.S. officer's location was identified by this technology during the two-day rescue operation as a "decisive moment."

"He had to come out of hiding to send a signal," one source explained the situation at the time.

It is unclear from what distance the heartbeat was detected at that time. However, President Donald Trump mentioned at a press conference on the rescue operation on the 6th that the officer was found "40 miles (64 kilometers) away."

Another source explained that the heartbeat could be detected in a "clean situation" due to low electromagnetic interference, minimal human signals, and the body heat being clearly visible in the desert at night.

The "Ghost Murmur" technology is reportedly likely to be applied to F-35 fighter jets in the future.

Lockheed Martin has not officially commented on this technology.

President Trump said at the press conference, "It was like finding a needle in a haystack. It was a tremendous thing to find this pilot. The CIA did a great job finding this little dot."