KC-135 Crashes In Iraq While Supporting Iran Ops

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker supporting Operation Epic Fury against Iran crashed in western Iraq after an incident involving two aircraft March 12, U.S. Central Command announced.

“The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

It is unclear if there are fatalities. U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine that rescue efforts were ongoing and the situation was still unclear.

The second aircraft that landed safely is also a KC-135, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine. A KC-135 operating from Israel declared an in-flight emergency March 12, flight tracking data shows. The U.S. military has yet to say whether that aircraft was involved in the same incident.

The unofficial Facebook site Air Force amn/nco/snco posted a photograph, purportedly of the second Stratotanker, after it landed. The photograph shows that a significant portion of that aircraft’s tail had been lost. Air & Space Forces Magazine has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the photograph.

This is the fourth crewed aircraft to be downed in operations against Iran, though none by the Iranians. On March 1, three Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighters were shot down by Kuwait F/A-18 aircraft in a friendly fire incident.

At least 10 remotely piloted Air Force MQ-9 Reapers have been shot down, Air & Space Forces Magazine was previously reported.

The KC-135 has been in service since the 1960s, and the average aircraft is more than 66 years old.

Previous casualties related to Operation Epic Fury include six Soldiers killed in an Iranian strike in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, and another Soldier killed at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia. About 140 service members have been injured, most of whom have returned to duty, the Pentagon said March 10. Another service member, a National Guard Soldier from New York, died at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, in a health-related incident. A French Soldier was killed and others were wounded in an attack in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on March 12, according to President Emmanuel Macron.

This is the first loss of a KC-135—or any Air Force tanker—in 13 years. In May 2013, a Stratotanker crashed in the foothills of mountains in Kyrgyzstan immediately after taking off to support operations over Afghanistan. Three Airmen died in the incident.