The US government reported that at least three of its fighters were shot down by mistake — so-called “friendly fire” — while flying over ally Kuwait in the early hours of Monday (2). The incident was confirmed by an official statement from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) amid the American offensive against Iran.
Coordinated bombings between Israel and the United States against the Persian country began last Saturday, resulting in the death of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a large part of the Iranian military leadership. The attacks continued with several waves on Tehran, which retaliated by hitting several neighboring countries that host American bases.
Below, we have gathered the information disclosed and checked:
Pilots are doing well
The six crew members managed to eject from the aircraft successfully. They survived and were taken to Kuwaiti hospitals in stable condition. The information was confirmed by Kuwait’s Defense Minister, Colonel Saud Al-Atwan. Videos show Kuwaiti civilians providing initial aid to at least one of the pilots.
- Sky was “saturated”
At the time of the incident, the jets were carrying out a combat mission on the third day of the conflict, in an airspace saturated by Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, which may have contributed to the error of Kuwaiti defense systems.
- Aeronaves F-15E Strike Eagle
The models were F-15E Strike Eadle, produced by Boeing (which merged with McDonnell Douglas in the late 1990s). Each aircraft houses a pilot and a weapons systems officer (WSO). In its most modern version, the unit cost can reach US$150 million.
- First material loss confirmed by the US
This was the first significant loss of US war material in the conflict. Vehicles such as the BBC, Washington Post and CNN showed images of at least one of the fighters in flames and spiraling down, with the crew ejecting. The Reuters agency verified videos of the crash of one of the jets in the Al Jahra area, in Kuwait.
- Official Confirmation from Kuwait
Kuwait acknowledged the incident and opened an investigation. General Dan Caine confirmed that the loss was not caused by enemy fire.
- Fake Iranian versions
Citing the Revolutionary Guard, Iraqi media falsely claimed that Iranian forces were responsible for the downing of the planes.
The episode exposes the chaos of war, with the lack of coordination in communication about what is happening in the theater of operations being natural. While CENTCOM confirmed the error by Kuwait’s defenses, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, omitted the episode in his official statement. Communication was the responsibility of the Chief of Staff, General Dan Caine.
