Three USAF F-15E Strike Eagles Shot Down By Friendly Fire (Updated)

Details remain very limited at this time, but an F-15 went down in the Middle East. Accounts online claim it occurred over Kuwait. Videos show the aircraft in a flat spin while ablaze, with its vertical tails missing and fire coming from its empennage, before crashing into the ground. At least one crewman safely ejected.

Since this article was first published, U.S. Central Command has confirmed that three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were brought down by friendly fire over Kuwait today. Updates with the latest info can be found below.

Unconfirmed reports say it was a friendly fire incident, but we cannot confirm that, nor who the jet belongs to. The Israeli Air Force and the U.S. Air Force are highly active over the area to access Iran (primarily via eastern Iraq), as well as to defend against incoming drones. Both countries fly F-15s. Saudi Arabia and Qatar also fly the F-15 in the region. The aircraft involved looks like it could be a Strike Eagle derivative, which is flown by all the countries listed, but that is also inconclusive at this time. Israel and Saudi Arabia also fly single-seat F-15A/Cs. No U.S. Air Force F-15Cs are deployed to the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

A video shows one crewman, without any visible insignia on his uniform, on the ground and standing near his parachute. Another view shows him or another crew member in the back of an SUV in relatively good condition, at least by the looks of it.

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.

At the same time, mechanical failures of a catastrophic nature also happen. We just don’t know what occurred at this time.

If this were a U.S. Air Force or Israeli Air Force jet, it would be the first known coalition aircraft loss of the war.

Once again, the details could and are likely to change as we find out more about what happened and who was involved.

We have reached out to CENTCOM for more information.

UPDATE: 6:40 AM EST—

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.

“Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” the statement added. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

UPDATE: 4:30 AM EST—

CNN reports that it has geolocated the crash site of the F-15E seen falling from the sky in a flat spin. The broadcaster says that this jet came down within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

At this stage, we are still waiting for verification that the aircraft losses today were the result of friendly fire. It is worth noting, however, that incidents of this kind are very much a feature of high-intensity air campaigns, and there are several precedents in recent years. In December 2024, for example, the Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg fired a Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) that brought down an F/A-18F Super Hornet operating from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. On that occasion, the Gettysburg had identified the jet as a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile, examples of which had been fired at the strike group. Two Navy pilots ejected safely. You can read more about that here.

The following tweet provides a useful comparison of two of the available videos of the incident today, and further supports reports that multiple F-15s were brought down:

Once again, the usual caveats apply, and until these videos can be verified, they should be treated as unconfirmed.

UPDATE: 3:42AM EST—

The location of one of the videos was geolocated to Al Jahra, Kuwait.

UPDATE: 3:00AM EST—

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense has released a statement stating that multiple aircraft were involved and all the crews are safe. It remains unclear exactly what occurred:

“The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense stated that several U.S. military aircraft crashed this morning, confirming the complete safety of their crews. He explained that the relevant authorities immediately initiated search and rescue procedures, whereby the crews were evacuated and transferred to the hospital to check on their health status and provide the necessary medical care, noting that their condition is stable. The official spokesperson added that direct coordination was conducted with the friendly U.S. forces regarding the circumstances of the incident, and joint technical measures were taken. He affirmed that the concerned authorities are following up on the investigations to determine the causes of the incident, calling for information to be obtained from its official sources.”

UPDATE: 2:42 AM EST—

The crewman’s helmet decoration appears to be an exact match with one belonging to the 335th Fighter Squadron out of Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina, which would make this a U.S. Air Force F-15E. It is possible that the pilot or WSO who wore the helmet is at a different squadron now, but regardless, this is a U.S. Air Force F-15E.

UPDATE: 2:02 AM EST—

Additional videos and images are emerging, but we cannot verify them, so they must be treated as unconfirmed.

One video shows what is claimed to be the moment the F-15 was hit or had a detonation of some kind. Again, we cannot confirm the authenticity of the short clip:

Additional stills claim to show two other crew members, a female aviator, and another male with a bloody hand, on the ground. There are claims that two aircraft were shot down, not just one. Again, this should be treated as unconfirmed at this time.

Another image is claimed to show the moment one of the crewmen was approached by locals who demanded that they surrender. The ejection seat’s life raft can be seen in the foreground: