&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Did Patriot missiles down 3 American F-15 jets over Kuwait? Trump accidentally reveals 'little mishap' | Watch")
KUWAIT CITY / WASHINGTON: In a stunning departure from military protocol, President Donald Trump has confirmed that the three American F-15 jets shot down over the skies of Kuwait were targeted by the US' own Patriot missiles. Speaking on Tuesday (Mar 24), Trump revealed that Kuwaiti forces—using US-made Patriot missiles—accidentally shot down three allied aircraft after misidentifying them as enemy threats.
A little mishap?
Speaking to the press in the Oval Office, the President downplayed the March 2 incident as a "little mishap," and said all three pilots of the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets successfully ejected and are "flying today".
"They shot down three planes with our missiles. They happen to be our planes," he said, adding that all pilots survived and were already back in action. "The pilots made it… pretty amazing," Trump said. "They’re flying today."
Trump insisted that "the Kuwaitis made a mistake, they fired...They thought they were firing at the enemy. It was, as the expression goes, friendly fire." Watch what he said here:
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What happened over Kuwait?
On March 2, the third day of the Iran war, three US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets went down during ongoing military operations in the region. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) later confirmed the crash, calling it an "apparent friendly fire" incident during active combat.
According to CENTCOM, the aircraft were mistakenly targeted by Kuwaiti air defences while operating in support of a mission. All six crew members ejected safely and were recovered.
Kuwait, in its initial response, acknowledged the incident and said "technical measures" were taken in coordination with US forces. An investigation has been launched, but officials have not publicly detailed what went wrong.
Conflicting versions emerge
The situation has become more complicated with new claims surfacing. An earlier report by The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, said the jets may not have been hit by ground-based systems as initially believed. Instead, it claimed a Kuwaiti Air Force F/A-18 Hornet mistakenly fired three missiles, each striking a US jet.
According to that account, a single Hornet pilot launched all three missiles during a moment of confusion as Iranian drones were reportedly entering Kuwaiti airspace.
Iranian media, meanwhile, has offered a different version altogether. Semi-official outlets such as Mehr News and Tasnim claimed Iran was responsible for shooting down the aircraft, though no evidence has been presented to support that assertion.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.
