Thumpalumpacus
Colonel
Kuwait "mistakenly" shot down three U.S. F-15 fighter jets on Sunday after strikes were launched against Iran one day earlier, according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom).
Centcom said in a statement obtained by The Hill's sister network NewsNation that the fighter jets were downed in Kuwait shortly after 11 p.m. EST Sunday.
The jets "were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses," according to the statement.
The six service members who were on board the jets "ejected safely," Centcom added, and are "in stable condition."
Footage of one of the shootdowns in this article:
The battlespace is extremely complex, and the threat of friendly fire is very real, considering how many missiles and drones Iran is firing west and how much damage those weapons can do, as well as all the tactical aircraft coming and going. It isn't clear if the incident had anything to do with Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia signaling they may jump into the fight, even in a defensive manner. Doing so is more complicated than it sounds, and the U.S. and Israel may push to see that this does not happen, as deconflicting the airspace and integrating other allies into carefully crafted battle plans is extremely challenging at this stage and fraught with risk. This is exactly what I mentioned on X earlier tonight prior to this incident.
[...]
U.S. Central Command has confirmed that, on March 1, three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident. The CENTCOM statement continued:
"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."
CENTCOM said that all six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in a stable condition.
www.twz.com
Centcom said in a statement obtained by The Hill's sister network NewsNation that the fighter jets were downed in Kuwait shortly after 11 p.m. EST Sunday.
The jets "were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses," according to the statement.
The six service members who were on board the jets "ejected safely," Centcom added, and are "in stable condition."
Footage of one of the shootdowns in this article:
The battlespace is extremely complex, and the threat of friendly fire is very real, considering how many missiles and drones Iran is firing west and how much damage those weapons can do, as well as all the tactical aircraft coming and going. It isn't clear if the incident had anything to do with Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia signaling they may jump into the fight, even in a defensive manner. Doing so is more complicated than it sounds, and the U.S. and Israel may push to see that this does not happen, as deconflicting the airspace and integrating other allies into carefully crafted battle plans is extremely challenging at this stage and fraught with risk. This is exactly what I mentioned on X earlier tonight prior to this incident.
[...]
U.S. Central Command has confirmed that, on March 1, three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident. The CENTCOM statement continued:
"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."
CENTCOM said that all six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in a stable condition.
Three USAF F-15E Strike Eagles Shot Down By Friendly Fire (Updated)
The F-15Es went down over Kuwait while flying Operation Epic Fury missions.
www.twz.com
