Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet Responsible For Shooting Down Three USAF F-15E Strike Eagles: Report
Three F-15Es were shot down over Kuwait yesterday, resulting in the death of one person. Kuwait Air Force F/A-18 Hornetaccording to a report by Wall Street Journal Lara Seligman. Although it was said that it was a ground-based air defense system that blew up the plane, based on the damage sustained by one of the planes, it makes sense that the friendly fire incident was the result of a series of air-to-air skirmishes. However, we cannot independently verify the report at this time.
SCOOP: The accidental shooting down of three American F-15s on Sunday was caused by a Kuwaiti F/A-18 fighter jet, according to three people familiar with initial reports of the incident. https://t.co/5xKB9jxwQs
— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) March 4, 2026
Seligman’s story is based on three sources “familiar with initial reports of the incident.” Supposedly only one Hornet was involved, launching three missiles and knocking down three Strike Eagles. Thank goodness the entire crew survived. The report states that the ‘blue on blue’ incident occurred when a large number of Iranian drones entered Kuwaiti airspace. One of these affected a base, resulting in the deaths of six Americans.
Footage of an F-15 falling from the sky over Kuwait this morning in a “friendly fire” incident involving the US Air Force. pic.twitter.com/GQvryfJ4C4
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 2, 2026
As we have recently examined in detail, the confusion of friendly tactical aircraft with real threats in a very complex and rapidly changing battlefield is not unprecedented, as it has happened many times before, including two past incidents involving Kuwait. The air-to-air aspect of the story is certainly intriguing and will help explain how the crew survived the gunfire. We saw an F-15E, with its vertical tails missing and its engines on fire, turning toward the ground. While this is devastating damage, it’s generally not like you’ll see in most engagements with heavier surface-to-air missiles, although each engagement is different, so we can’t rule it out. But within three shots, everyone made crisp sounds similar to tail shots from smaller weapons.
Additionally, if the Super Hornet had been using passive heat-seeking missiles (AIM-9 Sidewinder), F-15E pilots would not have known they were engaged until the weapon fired. There are caveats to this, including whether Hornet uses its radar to assist with Sidewinder lock. However, the Kuwaiti Hornets were clearly defending against drones in their airspace at the time, so even being painted over by their radar may not indicate how serious the situation was about to become.
We will continue to report as the investigation into this strange friendly fire incident progresses.
Contact the writer: Tyler@twz.com
