Three US F-15Es Shot Down by Kuwaiti Friendly Fire; Crews Safe

Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles went down over Kuwait on March 2 during Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. campaign against Iran, but all aircrew ejected safely, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

U.S. Central Command confirmed the incident in a release and said it was an “apparent” case of friendly fire with the fighters shot down by Kuwait air defenses. The F-15Es were engaged in “active combat” against Iranian “aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones” strikes.

CENTCOM said all six aviators—three pilots and three weapons systems officers—have been recovered and are in stable condition.

The friendly fire incident occurred at 7:03 a.m. local time on March 2 or 11:03 p.m. Eastern Time on March 1, CENTCOM said.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense said it “confronted a number of hostile aerial targets” around dawn, then added in a later statement that it had confirmed the “complete safety” of the crews.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine acknowledged the incident while briefing reporters at the Pentagon.

“I am aware of the loss of three U.S. Air Force F-15Es overnight in the region. I am grateful for the safety of the crews and we know that this was not from hostile enemy fire,” he said. “As this matter is under investigation, I’ll not comment further on this.”

Images and videos circulating on social media appear to show one of the F-15Es spiraling toward the ground with smoke and fire coming from its tail, as well as Airmen being recovered by local civilians. Air & Space Forces Magazine has not independently verified these.

The Air Force massed dozens of fighters in the region in the run-up to the conflict, including some F-15Es from the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and others from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, U.K. and 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, according to aircraft spotters, flight tracking data, and open-source information.

The incident is the first reported loss of aircraft for the U.S. since Epic Fury began Feb. 28 with a massive wave of American and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, which soon retaliated by launching drones and missiles at bases and civilian areas across the Middle East.

Air defense systems across the region have successfully blunted much of the Iranian counter-attack, but satellite imagery and social media videos have shown some missiles and drones getting through.

Six American service members have been killed in the strikes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said those casualties were the result of an Iranian attack on a “tactical operation center,” without specifying where. CENTCOM initially announced three service members had died, then said early March 2 that a fourth individual had “succumbed” to injuries. The command later announced two additional deaths.

Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was one of the bases targeted by Iran, along with Naval Support Activity Bahrain; Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar; Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates; and Muwaffaq Al Salti Air Base in Jordan. Civilian sites across the Gulf and Israel were also targeted.

In a joint statement issued March 1, the U.S., Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all condemned Iran’s strikes and touted their air defenses’ response.

“We stand united in defense of our citizens, sovereignty, and territory, and reaffirm our right to self-defense in the face of these attacks. We remain committed to regional security and commend the effective air and missile defense cooperation that has prevented far greater loss of life and destruction,” the statement reads.

This is the second reported incident of U.S. fighters coming under friendly fire in the Middle East in the past 15 months; in December 2024 during operations against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet was returning from a mission and preparing to land on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman when it was misidentified as a threat and shot down by crew aboard the USS Gettysburg. The Hornet crew ejected safely and was soon rescued.