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Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait late Sunday during active combat operations tied to Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The aircraft were mistakenly engaged by Kuwaiti air defenses amid a complex battle environment that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones.
All six aircrew members safely ejected, were quickly recovered, and are reported to be in stable condition.
Kuwaiti officials have acknowledged the incident, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause.
CENTCOM said additional details are expected as the review progresses.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense said earlier on Monday that several U.S. military aircraft had crashed, according to a statement carried by the state-run Kuwait News Agency.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Saud Al-Atwan said Kuwaiti authorities immediately launched search and rescue operations, evacuated the aircrews from the crash sites and transferred them to hospitals to assess their conditions and provide any necessary medical care.
Al-Atwan added that Kuwaiti and U.S. forces were coordinating on the circumstances of the incident and implementing joint technical procedures as part of the response.
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Video from the crash appeared to show one of the jets descending rapidly in a steep dive before disappearing from view.
In separate footage, pilots could be seen parachuting toward the ground surrounded by smoke.
The Kuwait Army’s official X account said its Air Defense Force confronted a number of “hostile aerial targets” at dawn, intercepting and tracking them as part of operations in the central part of the country.
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The post did not specify how many targets were engaged or detail their nature, but described the response as efficient and conducted under full combat readiness to protect Kuwait’s airspace.
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