Chaos in the Gulf | Kuwaiti air defences down 3 US fighter jets in friendly fire. All you need to know

Three US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down during active combat by Kuwaiti air defences in an incident of friendly fire, the US military said Monday. It said that the three US F-15E fighter jets were flying in support of the ongoing military operations in Iran.

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Earlier, social media videos had shown US warplanes spiralling out of control and crashing to the ground in a fireball.

The confrontation with Iran has expanded into a regional conflict with several Gulf countries hosting US military installations targeted in retaliatory strikes.

Following the US-Israeli coordinated airstrikes on Iran Saturday that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several political and military officials, the Islamic Republic launched waves of drone and missile barrages on Washington’s allies in the region.

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US aircraft downed in friendly fire

On Monday, the Kuwait government announced that several US military aircraft crashed in the country.

Soon after the announcement, the US Central Command (Centcom) issued a press statement saying three US F-15E fighter jets that were flying in support of Iran operations were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences due to an apparent friendly fire incident.

What US Centcom said

Stressing that the cause of the incident is under investigation, the US Centcom released the following statement: “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.

All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in 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 cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.”

US announces casualties in Iran ops

The US said four service members were killed and four others seriously wounded in a strike at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on Sunday.

“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty. Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing,” Centcom said in an X post.

Kuwait hit in Iranian retaliatory fire

Earlier today, missiles fired by Iran and Iranian-backed militias apparently hit the US Embassy compound in Kuwait, according to reports. On Saturday and Sunday, a total of three sites were hit in the country, which served as the corridor for the US offensive during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Several structures, including satellite communications equipment, were either damaged or destroyed.

A commercial flight terminal at the Kuwait International Airport was struck on Saturday. The airport complex houses the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base, the largest US air logistics facility in the region.

Several civilian and military facilities in Bahrain, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, were also hit during the same period. However, the US has not reported any casualties at the other five known locations.

All commercial flight operations in the Gulf have been grounded in the wake of the conflict. A total of 6,000 flights cancelled on Monday.

How many US bases in Kuwait?

Kuwait, sitting at the tip of the Persian Gulf and bordering Saudi Arabia and Iraq, played a quintessential role during the US invasion.

Kuwait houses several key US military installations, including Camp Arifjan, the forward headquarters of US Army Central (ARCENT) under Centcom, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from July 2024.

According to the 2024 CRS report, the country hosts five US bases:

• Ali Al Salem Air Base

• Camp Buehring (established in 2003)

• Al Jaber Air Base

• Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base (in the Kuwait International Airport complex)

• Camp Arifjan (four US personnel were killed here on Sunday)

The Ali al-Salem Air Base is described in the CRS report as “the primary airlift hub and gateway for delivering combat power to joint and coalition forces in the U.S. Central Command [AOR].” It also hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

US Air Force (USAF) capabilities in Kuwait include unmanned surveillance aircraft (including MQ-9 drones), as well as combat airlift capabilities, the report said.

Camp Buehring, established during the 2003 Iraq war, serves as a staging post for US Army units deploying into Iraq and Syria, the US Army website says.

In total, the US Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) manages or operates eight persistent bases and 11 other military sites in the Middle East via Centcom. Washington has also deployed the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, scores of naval ships and military aircraft, including F-35 multirole stealth fighters.

555 people killed in Iran so far

The strikes on Iran happened a day after negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities fell apart in Geneva. US President Donald Trump in an interview with Fox News said that “48 ‌leaders are gone in one shot” during Saturday’s strikes.

So far, 555 people have been killed in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The death toll from the strike on an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, on Saturday has risen to at least 175, according to Iranian state media.

At least a dozen more fatalities were reported across the Middle East.

On Saturday, nine people were killed and 27 injured in an Iranian retaliatory strike on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh.

Iran’s arsenal hosts a wide array of ballistic missiles—with ranges of up to 2,000 km—and the Shahed drones, a series of economical ‘suicide drones’ with similar ranges. This places a majority of US bases in the region within striking distance. The Shahed-131 and the larger Shahed-136 were tried and tested in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Islamic Republic also has regional proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis, collectively referred to as the ‘Axis of Resistance’.

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