A single allied pilot flying an American-made fighter jet was responsible for downing three U.S. jets worth a combined $100 million.
Originally it was believed that surface-to-air missiles were responsible for Sunday’s friendly fire incident in Kuwait, where Iran launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. allies after President Donald Trump launched his military campaign.
Three F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury were “mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” forcing all six crew members to eject, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
It turns out a Kuwaiti F/A-18 pilot launched three missiles against the U.S. aircraft, which cost $31.1 million each, sources familiar with initial incident reports told The Wall Street Journal.
Replacing them could be even more expensive, though, as the latest generation F-15EX Eagle II costs about $90 million per aircraft, according to Barron’s.
The crew—three pilots and three weapons systems officers—were all safely recovered and were in stable condition.
The incident took place soon after an Iranian drone penetrated Kuwait’s air defenses and hit a triple-wide trailer serving as a tactical-operations center at a commercial port, killing six U.S. troops, a source told the Journal.
The Kuwaiti forces were already on edge when their radar detected the American jets flying toward them, and they fired on them, the source said.
One of the ejected pilots was confronted by angry locals who apparently mistook him for an Iranian.
Images of a U.S. crew member lying in the back of a car have also been shared online, though it’s not clear if the images show the same person or a different one.
Kuwait has taken responsibility for the downed planes and said in a statement on X.com that “relevant authorities immediately initiated search-and-rescue operations” for the ejected crew members.
Reached for comment by Air & Space Forces magazine, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command declined to comment on whether Kuwaiti planes specifically were involved.
“It would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation,” Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said.
The Daily Beast has also reached out for comment.
The friendly fire incident was “perplexing,” given than allied pilots are trained to follow procedures to prevent those types of potentially deadly mistakes, a former Air Force pilot told Air & Space Forces.
In the early 1990s, Kuwait acquired a fleet of McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C and F/A-18D Hornet jets, which figured heavily in Operation Desert Storm.
The planes were manufactured primarily in St. Louis, Missouri, between 1978 and 2000, and have been retired by the U.S. Navy, which uses the next-generation F/A-18 Super Hornets.
Kuwait was cleared by the U.S. State Department in 2018 to buy 40 Super Hornet aircraft, but they’re not expected to enter service until 2027 or 2028.
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