In a startling revelation that underscores the sheer "fog of war" currently enveloping the Middle East, a preliminary investigation has suggested that a Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet may have accidentally shot down three US F-15E Strike Eagles. According to reports, the friendly-fire incident occurred on the third day of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, just as Tehran launched a massive retaliatory barrage of missiles and drones at Gulf states housing American bases.
A US official said that the Kuwaiti pilot mistakenly locked onto and launched missiles at the three American jets over Kuwaiti airspace. Fortunately, despite the catastrophic loss of the airframes, all crew members managed to eject safely. The situation was captured in the widely shared social media clips, which showed one of the F-15s plummeting towards the earth with its tail in flames and thick black smoke trailing behind.
Initially, the US Central Command had blamed the incident on "mistaken" fire from Kuwait-based ground-based air defense systems, but General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has since clarified that the planes did not go down from "hostile enemy fire," thus placing the spotlight squarely on the aerial mishap. Meanwhile, the Iranians had initially attempted to take credit for the "crash," but this appears to have been nothing more than propaganda.
Aviation experts are reportedly baffled by how such a high-stakes blunder could occur between major non-NATO allies. Former air force pilots noted that the F-15E is a distinctive, twin-engine fourth-generation fighter that should have been broadcasting a clear "Identification Friend or Foe" (IFF) code. "It’s pretty hard to mistake an F-15E for an Iranian aircraft, particularly if they aren't manoeuvring aggressively," one veteran remarked, pointing to a potential catastrophic failure in communication or transponder interrogation.
The incident is a grim reflection of the spiralling instability in the region. It follows a weekend of heavy losses for the Americans, including an Iranian drone strike on a base in Kuwait that killed six soldiers and a direct attack on the US Embassy in Kuwait City. As Kuwait launches its own formal inquiry, the accident serves as a haunting reminder of how quickly "active combat" can dissolve into lethal confusion.
Also read: Mojtaba succeeds Ayatollah Khamenei: Report
Follow us
