Three U.S. fighter jets have been shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses in what American officials are describing as a “friendly fire incident.”
The confirmation follows an earlier update from the Gulf state’s military confirming “several” jets had crashed, as video spread online showing the fiery aftermath of the plane falling to earth.
“At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
“During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.”
Footage posted online showed a jet falling from the sky in flames, and CNN analysis of the video suggested it was an F-15E twin-engine fighter jet.
Another video appeared to show a pilot parachuting to the ground, and he was seen recovering in the back of a 4WD vehicle apparently unharmed.
All six aircrew ejected safely and survived, but Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth gave little further detail as to what happened when he gave a press conference earlier today.
“Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” a US statement said.
A Kuwait defense spokesperson added that “direct coordination was conducted with the friendly U.S. forces regarding the circumstances of the incident, and joint technical measures were taken.”
Kuwait, one of the American allies geographically closest to Iran, has been on high alert as the strikes have rained down.
It has already found itself a target of retaliatory counterstrikes, which killed several American servicemen based in the country.
With the very real threat from Iran, it’s embarrassing for the U.S. to also have its forces targeted by allies via friendly fire.
‘Friendly fire’ refers to military action from one’s own side that causes accidental injury or death to one’s own forces.
“Death and wounding by our own hand in ground combat happens far more frequently than is officially acknowledged,” the U.S. Naval Institute said in a summary on its website.
In the second Gulf War, for instance, American troops killed at least seven and wounded 34 of their compatriots across 18 suspected friendly fire incidents related to the invasion of Iraq, The Guardian reported in 2010.
Another incident in June 2014 saw five Americans and an Afghan soldier killed when an Air Force B-1 bomber mistakenly dropped two 500-lb bombs on them during a nighttime firefight in Afghanistan, CBS reported.
The Kuwait incident is now under investigation to determine the cause of the incident, the statement from Kuwaiti authorities said, and they will be “calling for information” from official sources.
The statement did not specify exactly where the incident occurred or where the aircraft was traveling to or from, but it is likely they were based at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base, approximately 23 miles from the Iraqi border.
Geolocation data from the video posted online suggested it was about 6 miles from the base, CNN reported.
The air base hosts a permanent U.S. presence with the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, including a number of F-15E fighter jets.
The F-15E Strike Eagle was first designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed air superiority without relying on escorts or electronic-warfare aircraft.
It can be distinguished from other similar jets by its darker camouflage and fuel tanks, and each jet is worth around $100 million.
The F-15E fighters played a key role in the first Gulf War, helping to drive Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait.
They have been based in the country since then.
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