Amid the escalating war in the Middle East, Iranians initially claimed they had shot down several F-15 fighter jets in Kuwait.
Following the claim by Tehran, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense said “several” US military aircraft crashed on March 2 and that “all crews survived.” It did not specify how many jets were downed.
“The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense stated that several U.S. military aircraft crashed this morning, confirming the complete safety of their crews,” the ministry said in a statement.
Later, the Pentagon confirmed that three US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets had crashed in Kuwait. However, it said that the incident was most likely the result of friendly fire.
“At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident. During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” the CENTCOM said in a statement.
All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition.
“The cause of the incident is under investigation,” the statement added.
Videos shared online show an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet spiralling down in slow motion, with flames from its rear.
Videos also showed the fighter pilots being rescued.
Separately, the American embassy in Kuwait was also attacked. Videos shared online show smoke coming out of the US embassy in Kuwait.
CNN reported that it has geolocated the F-15E crash site. The broadcaster said that this jet came down within 10 kilometers of Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.
While Iran has claimed credit for downing the aircraft, multiple security analysts said that the incident could be the result of friendly fire from a Patriot air defense battery, as suggested by the CENTCOM statement.
While the two US airbases in Kuwait, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, are both within the range of Iranian air defense systems, such as the Chinese HQ-9B and the Russian S-300, the crash is still, most likely, the result of ‘friendly fire’.
The Ali Al Salem Air Base is less than 150 km away from the nearest Iranian border, while the S-300 has a claimed range of 300 km.
However, the fact that Iran has not been able to shoot down even a single Israeli or US fighter jet in the last two days in its airspace makes it highly unlikely that Tehran could have shot down a US fighter jet in Kuwait, which is over 100 km away from its border.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), more than 200 Israeli Air Force fighter jets took part in Operation Roaring Lion against Iran; these aircraft included F-35I Adir, F-15s, and F-16s; apart from dozens of US aircraft, however, Iran was unable to shoot down even a single aircraft.
Similarly, during the 12-day war last June, Iran was unable to shoot down even a single Israeli fighter jet despite multiple sorties over Iranian airspace.
So, it is highly unlikely that Iran could have targeted several US aircraft in Kuwait. The incident was most likely the result of friendly fire, most probably by Patriot air defense batteries.
Notably, Kuwait operates as many as 14 Patriot air defense batteries, four batteries of Raytheon’s MIM-23 I-HAWK, a medium-altitude system effective against aircraft and some missiles, and short-range systems, such as the FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air defense system [MANPADS] and the Spada 2000, an Italian-designed system that enhances protection against low-flying threats.
Additionally, Kuwait’s navy operates air defense systems on its vessels, creating a layered defense network.
Moreover, friendly fire incidents have happened in numerous wars.
In fact, after a thorough probe, if this incident is confirmed as friendly fire, then more than anything, it will be a sad commentary on how little air defense systems have evolved since the Iraq War more than two decades ago, when two friendly fire incidents in two weeks led to the death of three allied air forces fighter pilots.
Friendly Fire Incidents During the War
Twenty-three years earlier, during the Iraq War, on March 23, 2003, a US Patriot battery shot down a Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 returning from a mission over Iraq. Flight Lieutenant Kevin Main and Flight Lieutenant Dave Williams were killed.
“Royal Air Force Tornado GR4A ZG710 was returning to Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait when it was destroyed by a US Army Patriot Surface-to-Air Missile after being wrongly identified as an Iraqi Anti-Radiation Missile,” the RAF said in a statement.
Twelve days later, on April 3, 2003, a Patriot battery targeted and destroyed a U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet. Lieutenant Nathan White was killed in the incident.
The Hornet was engaged by a US Army-manned mobile PAC-3 Patriot missile battery in Iraq.
Within two weeks, the allied forces lost three fighter pilots and two aircraft due to friendly fire incidents.
Similarly, in December 2024, a friendly fire incident in the Red Sea saw a U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg fire a Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) that brought down an F/A-18F Super Hornet.
Three U.S. F-15 Fighter Jets Shot Down Mistakenly By Kuwait; All Strike Eagle Pilots Safe: CENTCOM
The fighter jet was returning to the supercarrier USS Harry S. Truman when it was shot down by the cruiser. The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group was under sustained drone attack by the Houthis at the time of the incident.
In 2019, during the brief India-Pakistan War (Balakot air strikes), an Indian Mi-17 V5 helicopter was shot down in a ‘friendly fire’ incident. India was facing an air incursion by multiple Pakistani fighter jets at the time.
In the Ukraine War, friendly fire has been suggested as the cause of multiple F-16 losses; however, it has not been established yet in the official investigations.
In December 2024, Russian defenders shot down one of their own Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters. Earlier, a Russian missile crew in Crimea downed one of Russia’s own Su-27 jets.
Clearly, such unfortunate ‘friendly fire’ incidents have happened all over the world. So, the question is: why, despite the repeated prevalence of such incidents, have the air forces of various countries been unable to stop them?
Why ‘Friendly Fire’ Incidents Keep Recurring?
In 2003, a Patriot AD battery deployed in Kuwait shot down a British Tornado GR4 aircraft.
Twenty-three years later, another Patriot AD battery deployed in Kuwait seemed to have shot down three US F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft.
Same Patriot AD system, deployed in the same theatre of war, under the same conditions that produce fratricide: saturated airspace, multiple simultaneous missile tracks, with one added variable, the preponderance of drones in modern warfare.
Drones have profoundly impacted the incidents of friendly fire by cluttering the airspace and complicating identification.
Commenting on the challenges faced by modern AD systems, Shanaka Anslem Perera, author and defense expert, said, “Every Patriot battery in the Gulf is operating in the most target-dense air defense environment since the system was designed.
“Patriot was built to track and engage ballistic missiles. When the sky is simultaneously filled with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, one-way attack drones, and friendly strike aircraft returning from Iranian airspace, the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) discrimination challenge exceeds anything tested in peacetime exercises.”
He further underscored that this is a lacuna that can not be patched in the middle of the war.
The fog of war, stress, fatigue, and rapid decision-making lead to misidentification; errors in position or response; untrained crew; and technological limitations, such as malfunctioning Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems, all of which also cause friendly fire incidents.
While the problem is well-known, there are no easy solutions. Any delay in response could allow incoming threats to penetrate the airspace and could lead to casualties.
Better radar coverage, robust Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems, and advanced air traffic control systems to detect, track, identify, and tag everything in the sky may seem simple enough, but they are not easy to implement in real combat situations.
In the coming years, AI will be used extensively to track and tag all targets in the sky and for Identification Friend or Foe; however, how effectively it can work in real combat remains an open question.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
