US Air Force Suffers Major Loss as Kuwaiti Jet Mistakenly Downs Three F-15 Fighters

Washington D.C. The US Air Force has suffered significant losses during its military campaign against Iran under Operation Epic Fury. It has been revealed that three US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets flying over Kuwaiti airspace on Monday were mistakenly shot down by a Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, this incident was the result of 'friendly fire'—a lack of coordination among allies—while retaliating against Iranian drone and missile attacks. Officials from the US Department of Defense confirmed that a Kuwaiti pilot mistakenly fired three missiles, targeting jets belonging to the allied nation, the United States.

This event occurs at a time when tensions have flared in the Middle East following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli air strike last Saturday. Iran has been retaliating by launching drones and ballistic missiles at US military bases in Kuwait and the Gulf region.

According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), Iranian drones were entering Kuwaiti airspace on Monday, and in that tense situation, the Kuwaiti military attacked the US jets, mistaking them for enemy aircraft. Footage circulating on social media shows one F-15 jet falling from the sky engulfed in flames.

Although the aircraft were destroyed, the crew members aboard managed to safely eject via parachute. Military experts view this incident as mysterious and a serious error. Normally, during wartime, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) codes are used to distinguish between friendly and enemy aircraft on radar. Former US pilots suggest that mistaking an F-15 jet for an Iranian aircraft is technically difficult, raising suspicions of a procedural error.

The Kuwaiti military was under extreme pressure and high alert because this incident followed an Iranian drone attack just one day earlier on a US military center at Kuwait's Shuwaikh port, which resulted in the deaths of six American soldiers. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense initially claimed to have neutralized several hostile targets but later admitted to the crash of US aircraft.

During a briefing at the Pentagon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Keen acknowledged the loss of three F-15 jets but declined to provide further details about the incident.

This marks the second time in the last 15 months that the US has lost aircraft targeted by an ally in the Middle East. Iran, meanwhile, has claimed responsibility for downing the jets by its own forces and has warned of escalating the war. With non-state actors like Hezbollah also involved in this conflict, a wave of humanitarian crisis and civilian displacement is sweeping across the region.

According to CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, over 200 combat aircraft have conducted more than 2,000 strikes in this operation so far.